No Direct Contact
by SilentJo
Summary: Accelerator doesn't know much about his past, but when he briefly meets a student named "Subject 37" that calls him by a name he doesn't recognize, he longs to find out more from her. He'll have to go against Kihara Amata to do so, with nearly fatal results. Years later, 37 discovers her own past takes her out of Academy City altogether, to a town where superheroes are real.
1. Chapter 1

Accelerator casually made his way down the hall towards his dorm room, if you could call it that, anyway. It wasn't the coziest of accommodations, but he didn't dwell on the lack of space or cheerful decor. He had been a "student" at the Special Abilities Institute for the last four of the eight years of his life. He didn't know much about his past, not even his real name, but he didn't dwell on that either. The name they gave him after his Esper ability was discovered seemed to suit him just fine. Accelerator. One-Way-Road. The more he trained his vector control ability, the more he felt that his past was irrelevant. The scientists had told him that his power was approaching Level 5, and would likely lead to him being the strongest in Academy City. The want for strength and power isn't what was driving him though. It was the desire to be acknowledged.

 _If no one remembers my real name, I'll make sure they all know my new one!_ He thought to himself as he turned a corner and suddenly stopped. He saw a girl crouched down against the wall trying to stay hidden from view. He didn't recognize her as any of the other children in the Institute, and she wasn't wearing the typical uniform the students wear either. She looked older than him, around twelve years old, at least. Despite the warm environment, she wore a two shaded gray full body suit that had to be as uncomfortable as it looked. She wore gloves on her hands and kept lacing and unlacing her fingers as she crept down the hall. Accelerator, still surprised to find someone new in a place he felt he knew every inch of, couldn't help but continue following her, passing the door to his room as he did.

The girl crept up to the end of the corridor and carefully took a peek around the corner. Accelerator came to a stop and waited for her next move. _That way leads towards the back offices and loading docks. I wonder if she's thinking of escaping. She must be new, anyone that's been here long enough knows there's no point in running._ The girl must have felt the area was clear and proceeded with caution. The boy gave her a few seconds before following. The girl was heading right towards the docks like he had predicted, which would stand to say that she knew the layout of the building well. Was she a new student? Accelerator questioned himself as he pursued her, wondering if there could be people or places he hadn't known existed in the only home he ever remembered having. His gaze drifted downward as his mind thought of that possibility and didn't notice when the girl stopped in front of him. He looked up just as she turned around to see him nearly collide with her. His ability reacted immediately, repelling her away from him and knocking her off her feet. She sat up, brushed the long strands of violet hair back from her face and looked at Accelerator. A faint glimpse of recognition grew in her eyes before it faded to a more anxious and panicked look.

"What the... What are you doing following me? And why did you push me like that? Did you use your hand? I don't think you touched me; you couldn't have touched... Who are you?" she said, rambling through her questions and observations quickly.

"I didn't touch you, calm down. I'm not some jerk trying to make cheap moves on clueless girls. I was only following you because your behavior intrigued me. That doesn't often happen in this dull place, so I wanted to see how your actions would play out. Were you thinking of running away? Not that I'd say that's a bad idea, this place can bring out the worst in people. But unless you're new here, you'd realize escaping is pointless."

Her worried look gave way to embarrassment. "I-I wasn't saying you were trying to touch me like _that_... That wasn't what I meant at all! But if you just considered me nothing more than entertainment for the evening, then that does make you a jerk. The fact that you think _I'm_ new here is amusing though. I was one of the first subjects admitted to this institute. Out of the 47 inaugural students that started here, I'm the only original member left. Unfortunately, they don't think highly enough of me to give me a name. I was given the designation "Subject 37". And you still haven't told me who you are yet."

He decided to let the jerk comment slide. As much as he wanted to keep his calm, uncaring attitude in check, he couldn't help but want to hear more about this girl's story. "I'm Accelerator. So you don't have a name? Not even a code name or anything like that? I've been here as long as I can remember, and I don't recall ever seeing you."

Her nerves had settled and gave her a chance to look at the young boy in front of her more closely. She was reassured by her earlier feeling of recognition now that she saw his albino appearance. "Accelerator, so that's what they call you now." She nodded her head and paused for a moment before continuing. "That's funny. I remember when you first came here. You were pretty young back then, five years old at least..."

"Wait... You remember the day I arrived here? What else do you remember? I mean... I don't care either way about my past," he said casually after remembering his earlier thoughts on the subject of his past. "But just for curiosity's sake, what do you know?"

Just as she began to speak, a door creaked open from one of the nearby offices. Her face changed back to the panicked look, and she jumped up quickly. "We need to go, now!" she whispered as she gestured for them to go back the way they came. Before he could stand up, the person turned the corner and saw the two of them.

 _Oh shit, it's Kihara. Of all the people to catch us out past curfew, it's that bastard..._ Accelerator rose to his feet, maintaining his relaxed and calm attitude, hoping he could smooth talk his way out of the trouble in which they found themselves.

"Well well well, who do we have here? Mr. Accelerator himself thinking the halls are his to roam even after curfew begins. And this is truly a surprise. 37, what are you doing, trying to escape? Did you finally realize what's going down? That's pretty funny because I was just on my way to collect you from your cell. Thanks for saving me the trouble and meeting me halfway. Your time's up, bitch."

Accelerator couldn't believe what he was hearing. What did he mean by 37's time being up? He saw she had backed herself up against the wall, her face reflecting a disturbing image of hatred and fear. "Kihara, look we were just out walking for a little bit, she was just telling me..."

"Save it vector boy; I'll deal with you later. You don't realize who this is, so I'll excuse your ignorance. May I introduce you to the SAI's biggest failure, Subject 37. Unlike you, who is proving to be valuable enough to warrant an awesome nickname, she is useless and barely deserving of her designated number."

"I'm not useless!" 37 shouted, venting her anger towards him. "You know as well as I do what happens when I use that ability. Why would I purposely do that to myself? Why try to raise my level if it'll destroy me?! If anyone is a failure, it's you for not stopping the experiments when you discovered what was happening! Instead, you pushed for more of them. You're a heartless monster, barely deserving to be recognized as a human being!" She ended her tirade by spitting what saliva she had in her mouth at his feet.

Kihara looked down at the spit that had spattered onto his shoes and shook his head. "Now that's not very ladylike... After all these years, I would have figured you would have learned your place by now!" He drew back his arm intending to strike her. Just as his arm came down, Accelerator slid between Kihara and 37, surprising both of them. "Get outta the way kid. This situation is none of your business."

Accelerator stood his ground, raising his arm up in a guarding gesture in front of her. "You're right, it isn't any of my business, and none of what you two are saying makes any sense to me. Not that I care enough to want to know anyway. But this girl and I were in the middle of a conversation. One that I intend to finish. It would be hard for her to do so after getting beaten down by a coward twice her size, however. So no, I won't move out of the way."

Kihara glared at Accelerator for a few moments before relaxing his arm and stepping back a couple of feet. "Now now, no need to get aggressive here. But don't forget your place here either, vector boy. I'm the head advisor and scientist in your testing group. I know you just as well as you know yourself. Don't think I can't flatten you beneath my boot rubber and throw you away like we're doing to her." He looked past the two students and saw his reinforcements approaching. "Go ahead and take her away, boys. Rough or gentle, I don't give a shit."

"Throwing her away? Why? Actually, I don't want to know. It's not my concern, but it's not happening now. Not while I still have business with 37." He swung his arm backward, intending to make contact with her to make sure she was okay. The movement, however, caused her to panic. She dodged his arm and ducked out from behind his protective stance.

"NO! Don't touch! I can't... It'd be too much!" She yelled as she tried to run from the two security officers Kihara had sent after her. Accelerator stood in shocked silence as the two men chased her down and subdued her.

"Her ability, which despite your 'I could care less' attitude I'm sure you're at least a little curious about, is an ability to mimic other Esper abilities for short periods of time. Which you'd think would be a pretty badass trick to have, right? Apparently, whenever she gains an ability, through skin-to-skin contact, by the way, she suffers pain and physical injuries. So she refuses to use it. Refuses to develop it or raise her Esper level. She's been here the longest out of all our subjects and has had zero progress. If she doesn't desire to gain more power, she's just a useless piece of shit wasting our time and resources. We gave her plenty of chances too. But the decision just came down the line to dispose of her."

For the first time in a long while, Accelerator felt anger and sadness. Emotions he hadn't felt since he had finally realized he was alone in the world. All she wanted was to live a pain-free existence. And for her ability to be activated by touch... No wonder she was completely covered up and paranoid about him touching her. He had resigned to only look out for himself since he couldn't trust others. Why now though... Why does he feel sorry for a girl he just met? Is it only because she knows things about his past, or is this genuine concern for another human being? Kihara could read his expressions and knew Accelerator grew conflicted with the situation.

"Hey kid look, don't worry about it. It'll be like nothing happened. Just look away." Kihara said as the men took her away.

Accelerator's face twisted in conflicting emotions as he clenched his fists and let them fall to his sides. What could he do anyway? His path was a One-Way-Road after all. He hung his head down and looked away as the men reached the door at the end of the hall. As the doors closed behind them, he heard one last shout from the girl he barely knew.

"I WON'T FORGET YOU! I'LL BE BACK, I HAVE A STORY TO FINISH! YOUR STORY, SEIJI ROISIN!"


	2. Chapter 2

_"I WON'T FORGET YOU! I'LL BE BACK, I HAVE A STORY TO FINISH! YOUR STORY, SEIJI ROISIN!"_

The scream he heard after the double doors closed behind her still echoed through his mind. The last words Subject 37 screamed were the last he'd usually dream of before being startled awake by the piercing cry that followed them. It had been nearly a year since that incident, and even now he still found her voice invading his dreams.

"Damn it, I can alter the direction of any vector, but why the hell can't I forget about you?" he said to himself as he rose from his bed and stretched his limbs. He walked into the bathroom and splashed water on his face and neck to wash away the night sweats that usually accompanied her voice. He thought back on the days that had followed that terrible moment in time.

Accelerator had grown angry with Kihara for ignoring him when he first asked if Seiji Roisin had been his real name. He persisted in asking him what 37 had been talking about until finally, Kihara blew up at him.

"Why do you give a shit about a name that doesn't even suit you anymore? Do you even realize the meaning behind that name? The kanji for your first name, Roisin, stands for 'One True Road.' Which I suppose works, it's where we got 'One-Way-Road' from after all. The last name is just ridiculous though. Seiji, with kanji meaning 'Pure Intention.' After the shit you've done since we discovered that ability of yours, you can hardly consider anything about you pure. There's darkness within you, vector boy. And the longer you're here, the stronger it'll get. I'll make sure of that."

"If it'll help me become strong enough to crush you and anyone else that gets in my way, then let the darkness flow." Accelerator replied in a mildly angered tone.

"That's the spirit, kid. Don't think that the hatred you feel goes one way though. It's definitely mutual. If you weren't such a useful little guinea pig, I would have slaughtered your ass along with that bitch 37. Although, if you want to hold on to a piece of that old name she saved for you so badly, how about you take that last part of your first name. 'Sin.' I imagine that would spur on your little dream of defeating me. Hell, I'd even welcome a decent fight for once. So how 'bout it, Sin?"

"You may be right, the sins I've committed so far have rendered my old name useless. But killing you and getting free of this 'school' is my primary focus. I don't give a damn what you call me until that time comes." Accelerator said as he walked away from Kihara and back to his dorm.

After that incident, Accelerator moved to another program at the request of Kihara. He was secluded from the other students and was made to undergo one-on-one development and training with Kihara himself. As much as he hated his "mentor," he had started to develop a similar personality. His apathy towards others worsened with every cruel experiment in which Kihara forced him to participate. His Esper ability had reached Level Five during this time. It seemed apparent that once testing was done to assign rankings, he would be ranked first. He planned to challenge Kihara as soon as he learned of his place as the strongest Level 5 Esper. That day couldn't come quickly enough.

But despite all the changes he'd gone through in the last year, one thing had remained the same. That same damn dream, continually reminding him of the catalyst that started him on this "One-Way-Road." Did he remember her because of some guilt for not taking any action to save her? Or perhaps it was the last lingering thread of his humanity calling out from within the darkness. Whatever it was, he couldn't decide whether to curse her memory or be thankful for it. He could argue that it was her fault for the way he was living now, secluded and alone. But thinking of her also helped keep him from succumbing to the darkness entirely as Kihara had. The memory of her was bittersweet at best, and even though he grew tired of always waking up covered in sweat, a part of him welcomed it.

Today began like every other; he dressed in his usual abstract black and white lined shirt, slim gray pants and boots and headed towards the kitchen where he took a can of cold black coffee from the fridge. As he cracked it open and sat down, he noticed a change in the air direction. Curiously alert, he rose up from his seat, looking around for a reason for the disturbance.

"This area never had a draft before. Something is going on here..." A loud crash interrupted his sentence as he saw the furthermost wall explode, sending debris and rubble in his direction. None of it came close to striking him; his reflection bounced everything away from him. He stood unshaken but intrigued at the new exit that had been created for him. Not that he needed one. He knew as well as Kihara and the other scientists that if he wanted to, he could level the building to the ground. His desire to grow strong enough to defeat and surpass Kihara was the only thing standing in his way of doing so.

"I wonder who I should thank for this little remodeling project?" he said as he slowly walked towards the collapsed wall and out into the corridor, his hands casually shoved into his pants pockets. He suddenly stopped, and his eyes grew wide and his breath shallow. Long violet hair against gray clothing, was he really seeing the person standing in front of him?

"Good to see you again, Seiji. Sorry if I startled you, but we should get going before security comes online again."

 _That voice._

"37... But... It can't be. They..." he stammered through his words, uncharacteristically flustered for the first time in months.


	3. Chapter 3

"Shh... I know it's probably a shock, but there's no time to explain. If we don't leave right now, this will all be for nothing. And then she's going to be pissed at me. Well, she'd be mad at me for doing this anyway. But, oh yeah, focus on the task at hand... Let's go!"

She gestured for him to come along, and after taking a moment to regain his composure, he shrugged his shoulders and followed her. She had cleared a path straight to the outer wall. He figured it had to be some ability that had made such a straight line of destruction. _She must have someone else helping her, there's no way someone that never developed their power could make this happen. Maybe that's the 'she' 37 was referring to._

Accelerator slowed down for a moment as he stepped out of the breach in the wall and into the morning sunlight. It had been so long since he had been outside, his eyes hurt as they adjusted to the brightness. Once his vision had returned to normal, he continued to follow her to an equally large hole in the outer gate that they casually ran through.

 _This is the furthest I've been outside since I got to that shithole, aside from short trips into town with the general classes._ He thought as they continued past other schools and buildings. She wove through the alleys and sidewalks so gracefully, and he caught himself admiring her light purple hair floating and flowing behind her as they ran. What the hell am I doing... And just how is she still alive? That agonizing scream had been the last thing he'd heard from her. He was sure that had been the end of her life, snuffed out because that bastard Kihara dubbed her useless.

"Hey, 37... HEY. Just where... are you taking us, and... how the hell are you alive?" he said breathing heavily as the strain of running began taking a toll on his weak body.

"We're almost there. I'll tell you everything once we're safe." He took a deep breath and pushed himself to keep up with her pace as they went around the back of a large building. There was a smaller building behind it, and beyond that, what looked like an overlook for a river or ocean.

"Quickly, in here." She climbed the steps to the smaller building and opened the door. Once they were inside, she shut the door and led him towards the back of the building. Accelerator's eyes had an easier time adjusting to the lighting as they began to slow their pace to a steady walk. They approached the back wall, and even though Accelerator couldn't see a visible opening, he could feel the air draft proving an opening existed. Sure enough, 37 moved what looked like a solid piece of the wall to one side, revealing a secret room.

"Come on in, make yourself comfortable." 37 said to Accelerator casually as she started to catch her breath. He stepped into the room and went to the nearest couch and collapsed. Physical activity wasn't one of the significant factors in his Esper training, and that escape wore him out. He laid flat on his back and covered his eyes with his forearm as his breathing gradually slowed down.

She slid the hidden door back into place and walked into the room. "I'm sorry for all the strain I just put you through, but I'm sure that we managed to get away without being seen or followed. In all, I'd say your retrieval was a success. I know she wanted to wait until they had more solid evidence for their case. But knowing what was likely going on in that place, I just couldn't wait any longer."

Accelerator leaned up, propping himself up on the couch with his right elbow. 37 was sitting in a chair a few feet away from him, her face finally still enough for him to look at closely. It had been a year since their first and only meeting, and he could tell she had aged. She had grown taller, and her hair was longer than before too. Even her gray bodysuit seemed more... filled out... in certain... places. He felt his face get hot as he quickly redirected his eyes from that area to her hands, which still had the same gray gloves covering them as she clasped her fingers together and drew them apart repeatedly.

"How are you still alive... The way you screamed when they took you through those doors, then silence... I was so sure you were gone." He sat up on the back of the couch now, his legs still resting on the cushions.

"It's a long story. Before we get started, do you want something to eat or drink? I have some soda, but mostly cold no-sugar black coffees, is that alright?"

"Sure, just the coffee though, I don't think I could stomach actual food at the moment."

She went to the kitchen and brought back two black cans of iced coffee, handed him one and then went back to her seat.

"Now, that scream you heard... It wasn't what you think happened. Remember back to when Kihara was explaining my ability? How using it would cause me severe pain and injury. Well, I desperately needed to get away, so I decided to use my ability on the two guards. It wasn't enjoyable, to put it mildly. One of them happened to be a fairly strong Esper, level 3 at least. Gravity Swing is the name of the ability. It alters gravity of certain areas and objects. I used it to fling the two of them at the ceiling then sent them crashing back down, knocking them both out. Then all I had to do was force my way through the exits, using gravity to clear my path."

"So you used an ability to escape, but how did you manage to survive for this long out of the Institute? Surely you must have had help to make it this far."

The hidden door was suddenly flung to one side, startling both of the current occupants. A tall woman stepped into the room, looking very angry. She wore a green tracksuit that fit her full figure snugly. Her long navy blue hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. She stalked into the middle of the room between Accelerator and 37, staring intently at the younger girl.

"I thought I told you to be patient. I needed more evidence so we could bring the SAI down the right way. I did tell you that, right? So maybe you could explain to me why that place now has a gaping hole in its side?!" The angry woman in green asked 37.

"Yes, ma'am. But... I felt like our time was running out. But look, I got him out of there just fine, see?" She gestured her gloved hands towards the couch Accelerator currently occupied. "And I made sure no one or nothing followed or tracked us, I swear."

"I hate to interrupt what sounds like a thrilling argument-to-be, but could somebody let me know what's going on here?" asked Accelerator.

37 answered before the green woman began her tirade again. "Seiji, this is Yomi..."

"Stop calling me by that name." Accelerator interrupted sharply. "That person doesn't exist anymore."

"But... Sei-" She decided to respect his wish and continued with the introduction. "Accelerator, this is Yomikawa Aiho, she's a member of Anti-Skill. And yes, she's one of the few people that know I'm still alive and know what's really going on at the SAI."

"What's so special about her knowing about the Institute? They plan on closing it down or something?"

Yomikawa answered that question herself. "Exactly, kiddo. We're shutting those bastards down for good."


	4. Chapter 4

"Bringing them down, huh. And just how exactly do you plan on making that happen?" Accelerator asked.

"Well, 37 has been a huge help with information on what was going on in the SAI from its opening on through to the time she escaped. We know some changes were made after she left. If you could..."

"Why should I care about closing them down, huh? What's done is done. Besides, all I want is Kihara. That place can collapse around us for all I care, but he's mine." he told the two women in front of him.

"I'm not sure what you mean with Kihara, but Anti-Skill has been gunning to shut that place down for a while. Your info on what's been going on in the last year can be what finally gets us through the doors."

Accelerator gave it some thought. "You've had 37 for the last year who has been there from the start. What more do you need to get a warrant into the place?"

"I had a feeling you'd question that. To be honest, we tried using just her testimony to get our case started. Unfortunately..." Yomikawa paused as she looked at 37, who picked up where she left off.

"As far as Academy City is concerned, I don't exist. There is no record of me at all in the city's database, and it's hard to create a legit case with just the word of someone whose existence is unknown."

"We were told that we'd need to have a corroborating story from a second subject or to find 37's records if they happen to be in the SAI. With you, Accelerator, we'd have that second witness. And since you're listed in the database, no one could question or deny your testimony. I know that place has done some horrible things to you and countless others. Help us bring it to an end." Yomikawa stepped closer to Accelerator and crouched down until she was at his eye level. "If you want to stop Kihara, we can help make that happen."

Accelerator stared at her for a moment. He planned on leveling that place to the ground himself once his number one Esper ranking was announced. He had plans for a grand debut, with Kihara's death at the hands of his student as the main attraction. These do-gooders were trying to interfere with his plans. _I should tell them to get lost and keep with my plan. But if I really wanted to pull that shit off, I could have just stayed put when the explosion happened. If I left with her that easily, was I really that devoted to the destruction_ to _begin with?_

"I don't think you're fully aware of what I meant when I said that Kihara was mine. But we'll leave that alone for now. I'll tell you what you need to know to get your team through the door at the SAI. But first, I think someone has a story they need to finish," Accelerator looked at 37 as he ended his reply. She nodded in response, acknowledging that she knew what he wanted for his trouble.

"Accelerator, when I first saw you at the Institute, you were five years old, and I was nine. I'm guessing you don't remember that far back though. It's okay if you don't. I was still in the general testing group with the other kids at that time, so I was able to wander around. I happened to be near the offices that day when I saw you being registered. I heard your name, Seiji Roisin, and I know that your father was the one that left you there."

"So it was my old man that left me there? What about my mother? What else is there to know 37?" Accelerator asked, his eyes focused and full of interest as he waited for 37 to continue her story.

"Well, your mother's story isn't a very happy one. Maybe we shouldn't go there right now, okay?"

"I've waited too long 37. You're trying to what, spare my feelings by avoiding some painful truth from my past? I'm no stranger to pain and misery. We were both raised with it around us, remember? So get over that lame shit and tell me what happened to my mother!"

"Sorry, I just didn't want you to be upset. While I was listening to the adults getting you ready to join the SAI, they asked your father why he was signing his parental rights over to them. He told them that he couldn't stand having a son with such monstrous power. When pressed as to what he meant, he told them about your power of reflection and how it developed at an early age. He said that your youth and inexperience made controlling your Reflection difficult. Sudden outbursts of emotion typical of toddlers and small children would cause you to send off tremors and destroy things around you until your mother could calm you down. Shortly before you turned 5, while you were on vacation with your family, one of those outbursts happened. You were sight-seeing on a mountain trail, near an overlook when something upset you and caused you to send cracks through the ground. Your father had gotten away from the ledge, but your mother stayed to try to calm you down. She had gotten close to you when the ledge began to give way. Your mother tried to grab you to get you where it was safe, but your Reflection ability went off, and it... she..."

"DAMMIT 37, just say it! I killed her, didn't I? I killed my own mother..." Accelerator yelled.

37 continued, a much sadder tone to her voice now, "She was forced off the side of the ledge, just as you were pushed clear of it in the other direction with your ability. The tremors stopped, but the ledge had already given out and fallen. Your father was in shock, and you were laying there stunned and wondering what had happened. He blamed you for her death, and when he heard about the Institute and what it was doing, he brought you there."

Accelerator didn't like this feeling in his chest that had developed after she finished her story. _I thought I could handle anything, but damn, why am I feeling this upset for people I can't even remember? 37 knew this is how I would feel, no wonder she hesitated._ He tried harder to think back to the earliest memory he can recall, but there was just nothing there.

Maybe it was better that way...


	5. Chapter 5

"It wasn't your fault, Accelerator, it was an accident!" exclaimed 37 as she tried to comfort him.

"Yeah sure, an accident..." Accelerator said half-heartedly as he stood up and stretched his legs. The pain he felt in his chest after he heard what became of his mother had started to fade. _'It's stupid to mourn for someone you don't remember, kid. Quit acting like a bitch and get over it.' That's what Kihara would tell me if he saw me right now. Maybe what happened then was part of the darkness that he saw in me. I'd never want to give that bastard the satisfaction of being right, but..._

Yomikawa stepped closer to him and attempted to put her hand on his shoulder. Just as she reached it, her hand snapped back so forcefully she stumbled backward a few steps, barely managing to stay standing. "What the hell, kid? I was only trying to show that we're here for you. It's gotta be tough on you. It'd be hard for anyone to hear about that kind of news, but a kid your age..."

"Don't bother trying to comfort or pity me. There's no point in mourning someone I don't remember now is there? And as far as my so-called father goes, if he couldn't handle my power, then he would have just been another weakling blocking my path. Who needs him anyway." He walked back over to the couch and sat back down, resting his elbows on his knees and bracing his face with his hands. "So I suppose you'll be wanting to know what's been going on at the SAI lately, right? Okay, I guess I'll start from the day 37 left..."

...

"So they secluded you just like they did me. I wonder why they felt the need to do so. In my case, they wanted me separated from the other subjects so I wouldn't accidentally come into contact with them. That didn't happen until 2002, about a year after you arrived. Keeping me hidden made it easier for them to run the more 'shady' experiments as well."

Accelerator nodded, "After I was moved the experiments and training for my ability stepped up. I rarely saw any of the other kids, unless they were brought in so I could test my abilities against them. Most of them didn't even know what they were walking into. They didn't exactly walk back out on their own, either."

"So they focused more on your training, and you aren't sure what became of the other students except when they were involved in your own tests. Well, it'd be helpful if we had more specific information, but I think there's enough evidence to justify a raid. Good job, Accelerator. That place and all the horrors it's responsible for are history thanks to you. I'll get on the phone with Anti-Skill to file my report and start making arrangements."

"I'm one of the horrors you're so happy to be disposing of; you do realize that, right?" Accelerator said as he stood up once more. "Considering all I've done, what I'm capable of, shouldn't I be the priority for Anti-Skill to suppress?"

Yomikawa stared at the boy, "Are you saying I should consider you a threat now?"

37 looked at Accelerator, then at Yomikawa, watching both of their expressions. "I don't think she intends to do anything with you Accelerator. You're the one that's helping us with our case against the SAI, so why would they..."

"Fear, 37. Fear is a great motivator for anyone. And considering what I told you two about the things I've done during those 'tests' against my fellow students, it wouldn't surprise me if Ms. Anti-Skill here felt it necessary to keep me restrained."

"Despite your questioning my intentions, I don't have any plans to keep you restrained. Until you show real intent to threaten me or anyone else, you'll be treated just like any other witness in an Anti-Skill case."

" _Real_ intent? What do you mean by that? You know what I'm capable of, why aren't you taking this seriously?" asked Accelerator, stepping closer to Yomikawa.

"It's simple. You were forced into running those tests, and as such, I don't feel that you were responsible for what happened during them. I don't believe you wanted to harm anyone. I don't blame you, I blame Kihara and the SAI. Those are my true targets, and the only ones who need to be punished. If we're done here, 'Ms. Anti-Skill' has work to do." Yomikawa bowed toward Accelerator and 37 and left through the hidden door.

"Well, that went a little better than I had hoped. At least Yomikawa wasn't too mad about what I did," 37 looked at Accelerator and continued, "No one is going to think less of you for the things they made you do in there."

"Somehow I don't think that's how things are gonna go, 37." Accelerator said as he let out a sigh of exhaustion and took his seat back on the couch. "And besides, it's not like I didn't want to go through with the training. I wanted to get stronger, even if working with that bastard, Kihara was how I managed to do it. The testing for the Esper rankings concluded a couple of days ago, so the results and rankings should be released shortly. Once I see my name in the top spot, then all bets are off."

37 looked at him, puzzled. "What do the rankings have to do with anything?"

"Because once I'm confirmed to be the strongest Esper in Academy City, I'm going to kill Amata Kihara. Once I know that no one can beat me, then I'm going to take his life. His existence is a plague on this world, and I'm going to make sure it's destroyed." Accelerator retorted.

"None of that is necessary; he's going to be arrested and sentenced for all the wrong he's done. You'll see, justice will be served, you don't have to dirty your hands because of him," 37 started to grow nervous about how angry he was getting.

Accelerator looked at the girl that had freed him from the institute. He could tell she was uncomfortable with his current mood. _There's no point in arguing with her. Calm down and just let it go for now._ "Your idea of justice and mine are very, very different, 37." He sighed as he rose up from the couch. "I'm exhausted, is there anything other than couches and chairs to sleep on here?"

"Yeah, there are several bedrooms and a full bathroom if you follow the hallway to the left. In case you're wondering, this is one of Anti-Skill's safe-houses. My room is the last one. You're welcome to any of the others since we're the only two that will be staying here. The kitchen area is right before you get to the hallway and is stocked with the basics, although I try to keep a steady supply of the cold black coffee. I'll be around if you need anything." 37 took a step back as Accelerator passed her on the way to the bedrooms.

"Still jumpy I see. Don't worry; I'll keep my hands clear of you," he said as he disappeared into the hallway. _I wonder if 37 avoided me because of her power, or the fear of mine._


	6. Chapter 6

He woke up in the darkness of an unfamiliar room. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he got up from the bed and reached for the light switch. As the room revealed itself, he noticed that he wasn't as exhausted as usual. He realized the nightmare that he had suffered through nearly every night didn't visit him as he slept. He decided to poke around through the room. In the dresser, he found clean clothes that were right for his size. _I wonder how they knew I'd pick this one. Unless 37 came in after I fell asleep and put these here, I was sleeping pretty soundly._

"Well, I guess I'll take a quick shower and grab a coffee drink." He said to himself as he gathered some fresh clothes and stepped out of the room. The overhead lights had dimmed, possibly representing that it was nighttime outside. He looked at the end of the hallway where her room was and saw her closed door with no light showing underneath the doorframe. "Looks like she's asleep, so occupying the bathroom shouldn't inconvenience her." He continued and stopped in front of the door marked 'Bathroom.' He thought he heard the sound of water running, but ignored it as he opened the door.

Steam spilled out of the doorway as he stepped inside. The escaping water vapor gradually revealed the bathroom's features. Directly in front of him were the toilet and sink, and to his left was the shower stall and bathtub. Sitting in a seat in the middle of the shower stall was 37, facing away from Accelerator. Her long violet hair freshly washed and tied up in a messy bun. The rest of her was hidden from view by the back of the seat. Seeing her without her gray bodysuit surprised him, and froze him where he stood. She stood up as she flung a towel behind her back, slowly wrapping herself up in it.

He could see her more clearly now, the skin that had seemed so smooth and pale amid the foggy haze was laced with bruises and red marks. _Those scars, her back is covered in them! Is this what her ability does to her? There are so many of them..._

"Oh, 37. What have they done to you?" Accelerator said in a woefully sad tone. _Shit, why did I say that out loud?!_

Upon hearing those words behind her, 37 turned around to see Accelerator standing just inside the doorway of the bathroom, watching her. "WHA-WHAT ARE Y-YOU DOING?!" she screamed in surprise as she frantically checked to make sure the towel was covering up everything that she didn't want him to see.

Accelerator turned his face away from her, blushing a deep red as he answered her, "I'm sorry! I thought you were asleep so I didn't think anyone was in here! I didn't see anything special I swear!" His words and thoughts grew more flustered the longer he stood there. "I mean, I'm not saying nothing about you is special... I just... I didn't see your boobs, honest!"

"GET OUT!" yelled 37 as she ducked behind the chair. Accelerator made a hasty exit and closed the door, leaning against it as he slid down to the floor.

"Geez, get it together, it's just a girl bathing. It's just as much her fault for not locking the door," he said to himself as his heart slowly stopped racing.

"Accelerator, are you out there? I'm... I'm coming out now," 37 said through the door. He got up from the floor as the door opened. 37 looked embarrassed as she stepped out of the bathroom with a full-length cotton robe covering her. "T-the bathroom's all yours now," she said in an attempt to sound cheerful and break the growing tension in the air.

"Okay, thanks," Accelerator replied as he gave her enough space to pass by, then stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.

...

After his shower, Accelerator went into the kitchen to get a can of coffee. He noticed 37 sitting at the end of the couch flipping through channels on the TV. She was curled up under a blanket, her hair still up and off her shoulders. He picked up a can for himself and one for her and went into the living room. He walked in front of the TV, placed her coffee on the table in front of her, then sat down on the opposite end of the couch. He popped his can open and took a long, satisfying drink.

"We... We need to talk Accelerator. About what you saw earlier," said 37, her voice calm and low as she picked up her drink.

Accelerator noticed she didn't look like her usual cheerful self. "The scars. That's what happens to you when you use your ability, isn't it."

"Yeah. The stronger the ability, the worse the physical injury I receive. Sometimes it's lacerations; other times fractured bones or bruises. The tests they ran at the SAI never identified what caused them, or why they varied. All they could figure out was that the severity depended on the other person's Esper level. They never went higher than a level 4 though. I had severe internal bleeding and a fractured spine after that experiment. I heal a little faster than a normal person would, but that didn't help the pain at all."

 _I thought I could only feel this kind of rage towards Kihara and those so-called scientists for what they put me through. But looking at her now, seeing the scars and how they've made her suffer is only intensifying my hatred for that place._

"How can you sit there so calmly and talk about what those assholes did to you? Why aren't you filled with rage and vengeance? Because after hearing your story that's all I feel right now. All I can see is me tearing them apart just like they've done to you. And you're just going to leave it to Anti-Skill to bring them to justice?"

37 looked at him with that same calm look in her eyes, "There's nothing I'd like more than to rip Kihara's head clear off his shoulders for what he's done. But if I have to sink to his level to beat him, than I'm no less of a monster than he is. There's a difference between justice and vengeance, Accelerator. Don't mistake one for the other. It took me a while to realize that."

"No, I disagree. Sometimes you have to become a monster if you want to fight one."


	7. Chapter 7

"I wish you had stayed back at the safehouse 37, you're putting yourself in more danger than necessary coming with us to the SAI.," said Yomikawa. "Your testimony is one of the pillars holding Anti-Skill's case against these guys up."

"True, but without any records of me even existing, my word doesn't mean anything. I'm going to find those records; I have to know... everything," 37 replied back as they stepped out of the car and towards the crowd gathered in front of the Special Abilities Institute.

Accelerator casually followed the ladies, keeping an eye out for any suspicious movements or people. He wasn't worried about an attack though. If anything he was hoping for some altercation. The last few days had been pretty dull in the safe house. Some action was just what he needed to get back to feeling like himself again. Yomikawa led them through the police barricade, and the three of them went up the steps. Just as they reached the entrance, Accelerator locked eyes with Kihara, who was being escorted out of the building by several Anti-Skill officers.

"Ah, if it isn't Vector Boy himself. Nice to see you again, Accelerator. If you had complaints about your living quarters, you could have just sent me a memo. Blasting the shit out of my school seems a little over the top, even for you." He grinned as he noticed 37 standing behind Accelerator, avoiding his gaze. "Well, well. I wondered if you managed to survive after escaping. I can't imagine the real world's been very welcoming to a mutilated freak like yourself, 37." Kihara glanced over to Accelerator and reveled in the reaction he got out of the boy.

"That's enough asshole, take him back to Headquarters. Since he doesn't seem to mind running his mouth, take him to Interrogation for questioning," yelled Yomikawa as she stepped between 37 and Kihara. The officers acknowledged her orders and continued walking Kihara down the stairs.

"Hey Accelerator, I know you're busy here and all, but you should take a moment to check out the latest Esper rankings. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised!" Kihara started to laugh as they led him away. Accelerator began to follow him but was stopped by Yomikawa.

"Get out of my way, that bastard's not getting away with what just went down." He attempted to side-step her, but she moved to block his path again.

"He will get away with everything if we don't stay focused on this investigation. Don't let him distract you from what we're here to do. He's the lead researcher for this place, so anything we find will have him responsible to some degree. There's no way he's getting out of this unscathed, so let's do our job and make sure he gets what he deserves." Yomikawa relaxed her defensive position once she was sure Accelerator had settled down.

"Tch...Fine. I'll be giving him what he deserves soon enough anyway. Is there anywhere I can log in to see the Esper rankings? I don't like the way he sounded just now." Yomikawa pulled out her cell phone and pushed a few buttons on the screen.

"Sorry, I don't have any signal here. Maybe one of the computers inside can access it." They followed Yomikawa into the building and as she went through she started asking for status updates. Very little information remained that was worth anything, although several officers noted that there weren't any signs that students had been occupying the facility recently.

"That's odd, I was here since the beginning, and I never heard of anything like that happening before. The student body wasn't as large as most schools, but it was far from being considered abandoned or neglected. And I rarely saw students leave either. I'm a good example of what happened to students that were no longer useful," said 37 as they continued through the halls.

They arrived near Accelerator's old room. The hole in the wall had been covered by several blue tarps, as were the other walls that had been destroyed. The outer walls were the only ones that had been repaired, although the work was considerably sloppy. Accelerator walked into his old room, ducking underneath a tarp to gain entry. Nothing seemed to be out of place. He didn't have many belongings, but for some reason, he didn't particularly feel inclined to take any of it with him. He took one last look around the room before muttering "they can keep this shit for all I care..." under his breath and left to rejoin the group. 37 leaned halfway out of a doorway and waved Accelerator over.

"We're in Kihara's office. Either he didn't feel threatened by the investigation, or he's just plain stupid. He hasn't destroyed or deleted any of the files and records in his office. It's like he wants us to see them." He followed 37 back into the office where several Anti-Skill officers were downloading the contents of Kihara's computers onto portable drives. Yomikawa was busy at a filing cabinet flipping through folders.

"It's strange that there are written records here. I've always known Kihara to update my records through the various computer stations throughout the facility," said Accelerator as they walked over to Yomikawa.

37 answered him, "These are likely the original records from when the SAI first opened. I do remember them using paper records for us. I was one of the few that saw it go from paper to digital. I doubt they bothered to transfer the old records onto the new system, so that's likely what she's looking through now, right Yomikawa?"

"Yep. And man these things are dusty! How anyone could deal with this archaic form of records storage is beyond me. But at least they titled the folders so they're easy to read." She skimmed a few more folders before pausing at one that had nothing written on the tab. As she opened the folder, she saw a picture of a much younger 37 stapled to the initial enrollment form. "Uhh, I think I found what we were looking for guys. 37, does this look familiar?" she asked as she pulled the folder from the cabinet and laid it open on the desk next to it.

"That's... me. I remember when the staff took this picture. I was six years old, so... it was 1998. That's when the SAI opened. I recall them saying that I was the only Subject that had no previous pictures or identification." She continued to read the information on the form. Nothing was filled in for her name or former address. Her parent's names were listed, followed by a 'DECEASED' notation. She started to read the summary that followed that information aloud.

"Utsu-ru's daughter, no name given, was admitted to the SAI by an unknown person. They claimed to be a friend of the family, giving the child's parent's names, but no name for the girl. The person informed us that the parents had died recently, and the child was left with no one to care for her. The parents had kept her existence a secret, so she has no legal name or identification number. She has since received the designation 'Subject 37'. It's obvious she was kept hidden due to her Esper ability, now referred to as 'Rip-Off.' Her ability activates through direct skin-on-skin contact with another Esper. Once contact is made, the other Esper's ability is stolen and absorbed by Subject 37. It is currently unknown whether the Esper eventually regains their ability. Studies will be conducted to confirm this as fact. 37 appears to suffer some discomfort when her ability is activated. Studies investigating this phenomenon will be run as well. Considering the danger associated with such an ability, Subject 37 should be treated with caution. NO DIRECT CONTACT."


	8. Chapter 8

37 stopped reading and looked up at Accelerator, her eyes glassy. "I- I had no idea. No one ever told me that I stole their Esper abilities instead of copying them!"

"Don't get upset 37. Obviously, they were running tests to see if that was true. We'll just look through the rest of the file and see if those tests proved it," Yomikawa said in an attempt to make her feel better.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I mean, it wouldn't be the end of the world if you did steal them. Considering who you were dealing with, the scientists and all, it's probably better that they can't use them anymore. We just need more information-" Accelerator started to walk past 37 when she suddenly jumped back and stumbled away from him, much like she did when they first met.

"Watch out! Don't! Just... don't come near me, please. I think I need to be alone for a little while. I'll meet you guys back at the safe house." Before anyone could stop her, 37 rushed out of the room.

"Damn, I thought she'd feel better once she saw her records." Accelerator said as he started to follow her out of the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" said Yomikawa as Accelerator turned back to face her.

"You don't think it'd be a good idea to follow her and make sure she gets back to the safe house?"

"I know you want to make sure she's okay, but we're close to finding out what's been going on here. She asked for some time alone, so we should give it to her. She's a strong girl; she'll be fine."

 _Tch... I know she's strong, she has the scars to prove it too._ Accelerator reluctantly turned around and walked back over to the desk. "Fine, why should I care if she wants to be by herself anyway. Is there anything else in her file that she should know?" They started to flip through the pages when one of the officers at the computer interrupted them. "Yomikawa, you should come see this."

Yomikawa and Accelerator walked over to the desk, and the officer turned the monitor towards them. "These records are dated after 37 escaped. They appear to be written by Kihara, noting your move to seclusion for more 'direct influence'. He also has lists of students that have been marked as 'graduated'. Officer, see if you can find me something confirming how many students were here a year ago before 37's escape."

"Right away ma'am," said the officer as he stood up and left to locate the requested information.

Accelerator looked through the names listed in Kihara's notes. He didn't know many of the students by name, but there were a few he had made acquaintances with before being moved into solitary. Some of them were listed on the screen before him. _Just more names to add to the list of reasons why I should erase Kihara from existence._

"Don't bother trying to compare the lists. You know what happened to those students. Nobody ever graduates from here. Not in Academy City's way of thinking anyway. The SAI was just a place to dump unwanted Child Errors and use them as guinea pigs for their sick experiments." Accelerator's temper began to rise once again. "Check the lists if you want, it's not like you'll be able to find any of them anyway. Most of them came here the same as 37, no name or ID. Why the hell do you think they were so fond of giving out nicknames or numbers to call us?"

"And that's on them to answer for, don't get yourself worked up, Accelerator. Let's keep looking through his notes while I'm waiting for that list." She continued to open and read folders on the computer, noting here and there when there was another list of "graduates." About halfway through the folders listed under Training, they found a folder marked 'Accelerator'. Clicking on it brought up a password prompt.

"Shit. Hey, do we have any way around these passwords?" Yomikawa asked out loud to everyone in the room. Accelerator stepped towards her chair and motioned for her to get up. She hesitated for a moment before vacating the chair and letting him sit down. He typed in his nickname for a stupidly obvious first guess, only to have the incorrect password message pop up.

"Okay, so you're not as stupid as I hoped you were. That's okay; it'd be boring if I had to fight a moron," he muttered to himself as he attempted another name, his real name. Incorrect again, and this time it prompted him with a notice informing him that he had two more attempts before the computer went into lock-down mode.

"Oh, just great. I guess I'd better think real hard on this next one. AHA!" He exclaimed as he typed in the word 'vectorboy' and received access to the file. The two of them started to go through the folders within the file, all of them neatly dated from the approximate date of his arrival, up until a few days before 37's bombing. They opened the files dated a year ago when 37 escaped. Accelerator began reading aloud from the notes.

"37 managed to escape today. The bitch took out two of my guards as she went too, stole Gravity Swing from one of them. He'll never regain his ability, so I got rid of both their sorry asses, what use are they to me if they couldn't even kill a little girl? Anyways, the higher-ups here have decided not to pursue and retrieve her. Oh well, she'll never survive on the outside anyway, Academy City will tear her apart eventually."

"It has also been noted that her escape could bring about some unwanted 'attention' to our Institute. Over the next few months, we'll be downsizing the student population, through 'graduation'. Despite the possible threat of investigation or raids, the Accelerator project will remain active. That little bastard's been a pain in my ass since he met 37. He thinks she's dead, and he's gonna keep on thinking that. Last thing the boy needs is hope. I have to say his ability is impressive. I'm sure he'll make it to Level 5 status easy. He won't get any stronger if he keeps getting all wrapped up in feelings and shit. The world outside only cares about strength and power. If I don't teach him anything else, it'll be that the ones with the power have the control."

In silence, he moved to one of the more recent files, dated a couple of weeks ago. He continued to narrate Kihara's words.

"Accelerator defeated the last student today, we saved one of the strongest student Espers for last, and Vector Boy sure didn't disappoint. His eyes remained cold and focused as he sent shards of glass..." Accelerator couldn't bring himself to read the rest of the description of the fight. _I can't believe how fucking happy this guy sounds describing that fight. Have I really become as cold and cruel as he's making me out to be in this? It disgusts me that he's speaking of me like he's proud._

"It's okay," said Yomikawa. "You don't have to read any more of that. That does confirm they were removing the students until you were the only one left. We'll let the other officers handle reading the rest of the records for now. Let's get back to the safe house and check on 37."

Accelerator nodded as he started to rise from the chair. "Okay. Oh wait, the Esper rankings," said Accelerator as he sat back down in the computer chair. It only took a moment for him to pull up the page with the latest rankings. He was listed as the second-ranked Level 5 in Academy City. His eyes grew wide as he focused on the name that was listed as the strongest Level 5 in Academy City.

Amata Kihara.


	9. Chapter 9

"How did that bastard rank higher than me? I wasn't even aware he had an Esper ability!" yelled Accelerator, still furious over the results of the latest update in Esper rankings.

Yomikawa was driving back to the safe house while Accelerator let his anger and rage out in the backseat. "It's a surprise to me too, kid. How about you get all that aggression out of your system before we get back to the safe house though, okay? It won't do 37 much good to see you so angry."

"WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT-." Accelerator's temper began to die down as he thought about what else had happened during the raid. "I'll keep it to myself once we're back there. Did you bring a copy of her records? She may want to finish looking through them."

"Anti-Skill has to finish documenting the original before I can get a copy. She was at the SAI for nearly seven years, so there's a lot to go through. I also requested copies of your files as well. The information in them may prove useful to you in the future."

"Great, more fun reading material. What I need to do is find out what power he has and why he never revealed it until now." They were approaching the safe house, he took a few deep breaths and calmed himself before stepping out of the car.

They entered the house and found there were few lights on. A sudden sense of panic rose from Accelerator's stomach as he started to fear the worst. _Was she kidnapped on her way here? Could they have had someone waiting to take her out as she left the SAI? I've got to find her!_ "37? Are you here? Answer me, dammit!" he yelled as he walked towards the bedrooms. He stopped at her door and tried the handle, but it was locked.

Yomikawa caught up with him as he started knocking on the door. "Is she in there?"

"It's locked, so I think so. 37 open the door, now! This isn't the time to sit around feeling sorry for yourself, you hear me? You're stronger than that. Are you really going to let one minor detail about your past affect you like this?" He heard footsteps approach the door and felt the handle move from the other side, so he let it go. The door opened to reveal half of 37's tear-stained face.

"How can you stand there and call it a minor detail?" she asked him, her voice strained with emotion. "You don't even realize all the damage I've done!"

"It was just some scientists and a couple of thugs that were going to kill you. You shouldn't have any remorse over that. I've done much worse than you..." Accelerator's voice trailed off as he saw tears running down her face, the sight caused him to lose track of what he was saying. She brought her arm up to her face and wiped them away once she realized they were the reason he was distracted. She stepped back and opened up the door. She was dressed in her bodysuit and gloves, once again not allowing any part of herself to be exposed aside from her face. She gestured towards the living room, and all three of them walked back there and sat down. 37 took up her spot on the end of the couch, immediately covering herself with blankets, while Accelerator sat at the other end while Yomikawa took one of the nearby chairs.

"You don't understand... All those years I was there, the experiments didn't just involve scientists. They also involved other students, specifically the original 47 Subjects. Every so often they'd have me meet with one of the other Subjects. They'd force us to come into contact with each other. Whenever I touched them, I'd feel so much pain, but I could copy their ability. I never saw the same Subject twice. Soon I found out that I was the only one left out of the original 47. I didn't realize why that had been until now. With their abilities stolen, they had become useless to the Institute. And you know what happens to the useless." She began to sob quietly again, burying her head in the blankets.

 _She was right... I didn't realize what this detail meant at all. Damn, I wish she'd stop crying. I can't stand seeing her like this._

"I wiped out an entire group of students with a mere touch. No wonder they moved me to seclusion. If I had grown careless, I would have stolen more from the general students. Even you, Accelerator. And that scares me more than anything right now." 37 lifted her head from the blankets, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

He looked at her blankly, opening his mouth to speak but nothing came out. _I have no idea what to say to that. No idea what I could tell her that would make a difference to how she felt. Is this what it is to be heartless and not have any empathy for others? No, if that were the case I wouldn't even be here right now. Just because I can't find the words to say doesn't mean I don't feel for her._

Yomikawa answered her, "Listen, you had no control over what happened to them after they left you. That Institute and the people running it are responsible. And it's no longer able to commit anymore evil thanks to you two. You can't let yourselves be tied down by the past. Yeah, you two had a really shitty start to your lives, but that doesn't mean you have to carry that into the future. Now is the time to start thinking about what *you* want. Where do you want to go from here?" she asked, looking first to 37 and then to Accelerator.

"You should already know my answer, lady. I'm going after Kihara. I'll figure out the rest once that business is cleared up."

"He's been detained. There's no way you can get to him right now. You'll have your chance to face him when his trial begins. I meant what do you guys want for yourselves? Haven't you ever wished for anything? Any goals to meet? 37, I've been thinking about something lately. Don't you want to be more than just a number?"

"Well, I've been 37 so long, and I haven't given any thought to any other designation. I don't know what my parents used to call me. I suppose I know my last name was Utsu-ru now, but I don't... feel like that's me."

"Why don't we...I dunno... help you choose a name. I mean it can't be that hard to find one that suits you." Accelerator said with a hint of shyness in his voice as he first spoke.

For the first time since leaving the SAI, a trace of a smile appeared on 37's face. "I'd like that. I suppose we have other matters to take care of first, but we'll do that once it's all done." Her eyes dried up and her cheerful attitude slowly began to emerge. Once she looked capable of handling it, Accelerator told her about Kihara being the highest ranked Esper.

"I have no idea what ability he has, but apparently it's more powerful than my own. I need to know what it is..."

"Yeah, I want to know what it could be as well. Could it be listed in the Data Bank, Yomikawa?" asked 37.

"It's possible, let's find out," she answered as she went to the computer terminal on the other side of the living room. She quickly logged into Anti-Skill's system and started a search in the Bank. "Yeah, it's in here now. Kihara's Esper ability is 'Deviant'. Any force used against him is immediately re-directed wherever he chooses."

"Sounds like he's had a counter to my Redirection this entire time. Why didn't he ever reveal it while I was training?"

"To make you believe your ability couldn't be defeated or countered?" suggested 37.

"I don't know, but I don't like the thought that he's had this strong power all this time and chose to reveal it now. It's like he's trying to lure me into a fight. He knew how badly I've wanted to defeat him."

"A fight that won't happen, because he's going to be in prison! How many times must I say it?" Yomikawa's phone rang just as she finished scolding Accelerator. She stepped away as she answered the call. 37 and Accelerator just looked at each other, almost as though they knew their current subject of conversation had something to do with the phone call.

"WHAT? WHEN? And there was nothing Anti-Skill could have done? Is he still there? I'm on my way. NO, YOU WAIT UNTIL I GET THERE!" Yomikawa slapped her phone shut and drew a deep breath before facing the two children again.

"He got out, didn't he? That slimy bastard found a way out of all this, right?" Accelerator prodded, waiting for Yomikawa to respond. The defeated look on her face was the only answer he needed.

"Looks like it's time for a monster to take out one of its own kind." Accelerator growled as he made his way to the exit.


	10. Chapter 10

"Stop, Accelerator! You can't go face him now; you'll only get hurt!" 37 yelled as she sprang up from the couch.

"Not a chance 37, my mind's made up, and no one is going to stop me," he replied angrily as he kept going to the door.

37 didn't know what else to do. _There's no way we can physically stop him with his ability... Think dammit, what can we do? Ahh, I know! It'll hurt, but I have to do it for his sake..._ She brought up her right arm and directed it towards Accelerator. A faint ripple effect appeared around her hand, and once she was ready, she forced it in his direction.

"Huh? What the hell is this?" A strange force suddenly enveloped Accelerator, causing him to stand still. He glanced back to 37 and saw she was controlling it. _She's manipulating the gravity around me! That's okay, all I have to do is..._

Before he could change the control of gravity around himself, she negated the gravity around him and threw him up into the ceiling. He fell back down to the floor unconscious as 37 yelled, "Forgive me Seiji, but I can't stand back and let your hatred for Kihara consume you."

"37, what did you just do?" Yomikawa asked as she started to approach Accelerator.

"I... I used Gravity Swing on him. It's the last stolen ability I had, and I know that he has to consciously let gravity affect him. So I took control of the gravity around him and knocked him out before he could leave. Hopefully now he can be a little calmer and rational before...he... AHH!" 37 screamed out in pain and collapsed to the floor.

Accelerator had just started to regain consciousness when she collapsed. "What was that 37? Hey... what happened to her?!" He yelled at Yomikawa, who had rushed back to 37's side. The back of her bodysuit grew wet as blood soaked through in a foot long diagonal line across her back. He started to approach her when Yomikawa stopped him.

"Stand back Accelerator; she can't take the chance of you coming into contact with her if she's already injured. This cut must have come up when she used that ability on you. I'll take care of the wound. It looks like I won't get back to HQ right away after all," she said as she carefully lifted 37 up and brought her into her bedroom.

Not sure what else to do, he resigned to take a seat on the couch. _How stupid to use that ability knowing it would do this. Why would she do that just to stop me, I would have been fine going after Kihara on my own._

37 woke up as Yomikawa was peeling back the bodysuit, revealing the long gash across her back. "Oww, as much as this has happened, I still can't get used to the pain. Is he still out cold or did he leave?" 37 asked as she laid down on the bed, her face half-nestled in her pillow as she gripped the sides tightly.

"No, he woke up right as you collapsed. He didn't look like he'd be going anywhere now, but that was still no excuse to risk hurting yourself. This looks like a clean shallow cut. I should be able to stitch it closed myself. Will you be okay with me doing that here?"

"That's fine; you'll probably take care of it better than the SAI did with the other ones. I just couldn't think of any other way to keep him from leaving."

Yomikawa nodded, "I can understand that, but I'm curious, why are you so concerned about him? Is it just because you're both from the Institute and you want to look out for him, or is it something else?"

37 thought for a moment before answering. "Well, I suppose it's because I want to fix what's broken."

"You think he's broken?" asked Yomikawa, interested in what she meant. She had begun to stitch together the wound, trying to cause as little discomfort to the girl as she could.

"We all are in some way. That's what life does sometimes. There are people in this world that break, and there are those that fix. Kihara is a breaker, obviously. You're a fixer, even right now for taking care of me. You asked me what it is I wanted to do with my life. I want to fix. And that includes people."

...

 _It's sure taking a while, maybe I should check on them._ Accelerator stood up and stretched before walking back towards her bedroom. The door was left partially open, and as he approached, he could hear the two ladies speaking. _Ahh, she's awake, that's a good sign._ He paused before stepping through the door though, as he heard them talking about him of all things.

"So you think that the way Accelerator is now needed fixing?"

"It's not that I want to change him, I like who he is. I'm just afraid that he's going to get carried away and get himself hurt. He relies on his ability too much. Yeah, it's convenient to have but look what we found out about Kihara having a counter ability. I fear that he'd be left defenseless if Kihara gets the upper hand and takes out his Reflection."

 _She's worried about me? No one's ever done that for me before, but for her to say that I'd be defenseless... How am I supposed to take that? It's like she's saying I'm weak..._ He looked into the room and saw Yomikawa finishing up the stitches on the cut across 37's back. He stepped through the doorway and greeted the two girls.

"Hey. I see you're all patched up now, so I guess there's no need to worry about you anymore. So how about you stop worrying about me and let me do what I'm good at. Unless you think I'm too weak to take care of Kihara..."

"What? I never said that about you, why would you think that?" 37 said as she pulled her blanket around her as she sat up on her bed gingerly.

"Don't play dumb now. I heard what you said earlier about me being defenseless. You don't believe I can handle Kihara, do you?" he grew angry as he continued. "But that's okay, I'm sure once I prove how wrong you are and get rid of the bastard you'll realize your error in judgment."

"I never called you weak! If you had really listened to what I had said, I was talking about what could be possible if you underestimate him. I know you're a strong Esper, everyone does. But Kihara also knows all about you and is very good at exploiting weaknesses. He made you believe there wasn't a counter to your ability to give you a false sense of security. I was just worried that you'd rush into a fight without thinking of a rational plan for dealing with him." 37 attempted to rise from her bed, but the pain from her back made it hard to stand.

Yomikawa grabbed one of her hands to help steady her as she stood up. "You shouldn't be moving around, you may break your stitches."

"Listen to her 37, don't bother trying to stop me again," Accelerator said as he walked out of the room.

"Do you think I should go after him?" said Yomikawa as 37 reluctantly turned back to her bed and laid down once again.

"No. He's angry, but he isn't driven by that blind rage from earlier. I can't believe he completely misinterpreted what I said though."

"Well, he's still young, most normal nine-year-olds wouldn't have to deal with a situation like this. I have a feeling he wasn't sure how to handle you showing concern for him. The kid hasn't exactly been living in an environment that fosters caring and empathy."

37 nodded her head in agreement with Yomikawa. "True, but that just makes me want to fix what they broke even more. I know he's capable of kindness and compassion. They've just been too strong of an influence on him."

Yomikawa nodded as she sighed deeply, "I'm sure he is, and if anyone can help him it's you. But you need your rest right now, so just focus on healing. I'll make sure that he's okay in the meantime." She smiled at the girl and walked out of the room. She walked into the living room just in time to see Accelerator leaving the safe house. She yelled out for him to stop, and he paused at the threshold.

"Don't worry; I'm not going after Kihara just yet. Just do me a favor and keep an eye on 37, don't give her a chance to do something stupid like getting hurt again. She's been through enough pain as it is, but I'll make sure I'm strong enough to put an end to the cause of that pain." Without looking back, he continued through the door.


	11. Chapter 11

Weeks had passed since Accelerator had left the safe house. He checked in with Yomikawa every so often to find out the latest on Anti-Skill's case against Kihara. Yomikawa would let him know how 37 was doing, and despite acting like he didn't care, he was relieved to hear that she was safe. He never told her what he was doing, and she was wise not to push the issue. She knew a kid like Accelerator needed space right now. It didn't stop her from giving up a deep sigh whenever she hung up with him though.

"He'll come back soon I'm sure," said 37 one morning after the two girls had sat down for their breakfast. 37 knew that Yomikawa worried about him, and tried to reassure her that things were okay.

"I know. I'm just glad this case will be over soon. It's sickening to think that a slimeball like Kihara could have so many connections with the higher-ups in Academy City. I'd hate to think of what would happen if he gets off with a slap on the wrist... You know what _he'd_ do..."

"It won't come to that. I believe that justice will come through. I just want Accelerator to come back soon. It's a shame that he missed my birthday, but I wouldn't have expected him to remember it after so long. But I wonder if he's even aware that his birthday is tomorrow."

"Really? To be honest, I didn't know when his birthday was." Yomikawa said.

"Yeah, October 24th, 1996. He entered the SAI on his fifth birthday. Can you do me a favor? When he calls in today, could you remind him of his birthday? Not remembering others birthdays is understandable, but it'd be a shame for him to forget his own. And if possible, see if he can stop by, I kinda have something I'd like to give him..." 37's voice trailed off as she looked at her guardian.

"Of course, and no need to get embarrassed, I think it's sweet that you want to give him a birthday gift. I know it doesn't seem so lately, but he does have a soft spot when it comes to you, 37."

"You do? Why do you say that? The last time I saw him, he was angry with me and stormed out. That doesn't feel like he has a soft spot to me." she said, slightly pouting.

"Call it a woman's intuition. He may have been upset, but as he left his last words to me were to make sure you didn't get yourself hurt again. He's concerned about you. I don't think I've seen him show that side of himself to anyone else."

37 smiled as she pondered what she had just heard. Just then, Yomikawa's phone rang.

"Yomikawa here... Okay, yeah. Sure thing, I can be there within the hour. Gotcha, I know that location. On my way." She looked over to 37 who was nearly done with her pancakes and eggs. "I'm sorry, there's been a report of an anti-Esper terrorist attack downtown. I'll be gone a few hours, when I get back we'll see about making plans for Accelerator's birthday, okay?"

"Okay, sure!" The young Esper went back to eating her breakfast as Yomikawa walked out of the house.

...

"Tch, sometimes I wonder if there is anyone that DOESN'T have connections to the Dark Side of Academy City here," said Accelerator angrily as he stepped out of the darkened alleyway where he had just taken out one of Kihara's supporters. The past few weeks he had gone off the grid, collecting information on anyone with connections to Kihara. He mainly wanted to neutralize anyone that could help Kihara 'disappear' should his Anti-Skill case finish with anything other than a guilty verdict.

"I promised that I wouldn't go after Kihara just yet. I never said I wouldn't make sure he couldn't slither away into the night either. That guy should be the last one with enough pull to get Kihara out of the city quickly. The court verdict will be delivered the day after tomorrow, the 25th. All this time and work disposing of the scum of Academy City all boils down to that day. I have to say I did appreciate the chance to strengthen my ability in the process. I'll let the girls have their chance for 'justice'. But if he walks out of that building without cuffs, then my kind of justice will be swift and devastating."

Accelerator walked through Academy City's downtown area, his gray hoodie concealing his face from the other pedestrians. He noticed some Anti-Skill vehicles parked near a well-known hangout for students. _Hmm, maybe I should contact Yomikawa and see what's up._ Just as he was about to dial her number, he recognized her as one of the officers in the crowd. He tugged his hood down further around his head as he made his way to the scene.

"Hey, what are you doing on this side of town? Is 37 with you?" said Accelerator as he casually walked up to Yomikawa.

"Well speak of the devil, she and I were talking about you this morning. She's still at the safe house. I got called here over a report of an anti-Esper terrorist cell planting bombs in this area hours ago. So far we don't have any evidence other than the anonymous phone call informing us. I'm starting to think someone is pulling our leg here. Are you coming back to the house? I know 37 would be relieved to see you."

"No, I think it'd be a good idea to keep the two of us separate for right now. At least until this case is over," he said uneasily. _Not to mention that I may have the entire criminal underground pissed off at me right now for attacking their guys. You girls don't need to be in the way with that kinda heat on my back._

Yomikawa looked genuinely saddened, "Are you sure? You've had us worried these last few weeks. I know you're able to handle yourself, but sometimes having others around for support isn't such a bad thing, you know."

"This isn't one of those times, trust me. I'll see you on the 25th, Yomikawa." Accelerator began to walk away when he heard Yomikawa's phone ring. _Maybe it's 37 checking up on her. Maybe talking to her over the phone won't be so bad..._ He had gotten distracted with that thought and had halted his steps. Moments later, a frantic voice echoed his name over and over.

"Hey, Accelerator, snap out of it! ACCELERATOR!" yelled Yomikawa.

Snapping out of his daze, he looked at Yomikawa and answered her, "Uhh yeah, yeah what is it?"

She held out her phone towards him, her usually calm demeanor now shaken and unsure, "It's for you. They have 37."

His eyes widened with fear as he took the phone out of her hands. "Where's 37? Who is this? I'll need a name to go with the bastard who is foolish enough to make me angry. They won't be able to ID you otherwise after I'm done with you!" He heard a low chuckle before the other person started to speak.

"I'm a little hurt that I wouldn't be the first person you'd suspect, Vector Boy. Do you think that I'd just sit around peacefully and let the legal system attempt to put me away? Aww, it looks like your little girlfriend wants to say hi." Accelerator heard some muffled sounds as the phone was getting moved around. Finally, 37's frightened voice came through over the line.

"Seij... Uh.. Accelerator, don't fall for it. He's baiting you, don't come after me! Please, just forget about me, don't let him w-" a loud smack echoed over the phone. The unmistakable sound of metal against skin. Accelerator's rage grew exponentially as he waited for Kihara to start talking again.

"To be honest, I was expecting her to go with the typical 'Oh please come save me!' shit. But then again, the thought of you being someone's knight in shining armor is just as ridiculous. Do you really think all your little activities over the past few weeks have gone unnoticed? Well, it looks like we're overstaying our welcome. Though I gotta say, this wasn't much of a safe house, after all, now was it?"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU ARE DEAD WHEN I SEE YOU! DEAD! IF YOU HURT HER AGAIN, I SWEAR..." Accelerator's rant was cut short after he heard the dial tone.

"Where are they? Accelerator, answer me dammit!" yelled Yomikawa.

Accelerator was livid, his chest heaving with anger and rage. "They got into the safe house. So much for all your 'justice' bullshit... I'm going to choke the life out of that bastard."

Before she could respond, Accelerator tapped the toe end of his sneaker against the ground and used his ability to propel himself away from her and towards the safe house with astonishing speed.


	12. Chapter 12

Accelerator held nothing back as he flung himself towards the safe house. When he arrived, he ran in without either caution or stealth.

"KIHARA! 37! WHERE ARE YOU?" he yelled as he stormed into the living room, making his way towards the back hallway. He ducked his head quickly into the bathroom and his room before seeing 37's door left open. He stepped inside and saw it was a mess.

"This must have been where he found her. He wrecked her room knowing it'd piss me off." He searched the room for anything Kihara left behind. He was about to walk out when he noticed 37's desk. It looked nearly untouched despite the condition of the rest of the room. On the desk he found a present that had been hastily opened and torn. Next to the box, he saw an old worn-out stuffed bear whose head had been nearly ripped off. An envelope rested against it, which Accelerator grabbed as soon as he saw the thick black writing across the front.

 **"Aww...too bad. You know where we'll be, Vector Boy... Midnight."**

"GAAAARRRHHHH!" Accelerator yelled as he wrung the envelope into his fist and shoved it into his pocket. "Damn right I know where you'll be, you son of a bitch! What better place to finish this than where it all began." He glanced once more at the torn bear before taking off again. He didn't even attempt to go through the doorway as he left. He blew off the side of the building as he rushed towards the Special Abilities Institute.

Accelerator arrived at the SAI shortly before midnight. He glanced upwards, _There's only one place that arrogant bastard would want to meet._ He ran towards the front of the building and jumped up against the side wall, activated his vector ability and propelled himself straight up the wall. He went over the top of the building and landed rather gracefully on the rooftop.

"I know you're up here Kihara, show yourself and get this over with!" He started to walk around the rooftop when he heard a noise that sounded like a party favor. Several spotlights turned on, momentarily blinding him as the noise stopped and a familiar voice followed.

"Happy Birthday Vector Boy... I gotta say, most people don't keep my interest for long. I have no use for friends or loved ones. To me, once you've served your purpose you may as well be disposable. Just like your little friend here." He gestured to a section of the roof that was partially in the shadows. Accelerator could barely make out 37, tied up and gagged.

"37! Let her go, Kihara! She has nothing to do with the shit we have between us!"

"Ha ha ha... See what I mean kid? She's useless for everything but getting you riled up! I never expected this from you. All that time you spent caring for nothing but gaining power. Why bother to save her? She serves no purpose for you, and don't tell me it's because she's your friend. Monsters like you and I aren't capable of friendship. We're only capable of manipulating and using others. We _destroy_ the good around us, kid."

"My reasons for being here are my own. Despite the scum I've become, I'll be damned if I let you drag her down to Hell with us! Let's finish this now!" Accelerator used his ability to attack Kihara, who used his Deviant ability to redirect the attacks back towards him. Accelerator barely dodged them before coming face to face with Kihara. He threw a punch, but Kihara's ability pushed his hand back towards himself.

 _Dammit, nothing I've tried is working on him. Everything I do gets redirected back to me. Shit this is frustrating!_

"Aww c'mon kid, I thought you had more fight in you than this! Guess you didn't expect me to have a stronger ability than you though did you? Wish I could have seen your face when you saw the Esper rankings!"

Accelerator continued sending his Vector Redirection towards Kihara but soon began to notice his ability start to weaken.

"What is this... My Redirection isn't working right!" Just as he finished speaking a piece of rubble struck him and knocked him off his feet. The impenetrable forcefield that constantly surrounded him had failed. He lay there stunned as Kihara walked up and kicked him in his side.

"Noticing your ability getting a little weak, Vector Boy? Guess I can go ahead and tell you why now that you're not going anywhere. You recall what the SAI was ultimately formed to develop? Dual Skill. We wanted to prove that Espers were capable of developing more than one ability. And thanks to you and all the other guinea pigs, several dual skills were created. Yours truly is one of them. My main ability is Deviant, which redirects any forces sent my way wherever I damn well want them to go. My second skill nullifies my opponent's ability as long as I'm actively fighting them. So go ahead kid, let loose!" He kicked Accelerator again, when the young Esper attempted to fight back he was struck again, whether by Kihara directly or by the vectors that were intended as defense.

As the fight continued, 37 struggled to free herself. She glanced over and saw that Accelerator was seriously hurt. This wasn't a fair fight to begin with, she knew. She knew Accelerator wouldn't give up, but even so, he wouldn't be able to last much longer. She frantically fought to free herself, and as she was just able to get one of her hands out of the ropes, she saw Kihara begin another violent assault against Accelerator. She quickly freed her other hand and pulled the gag off of her mouth.

"Stop it! You'll kill him!" 37 yelled as she loosened the ties around her feet.

"That's the idea girlie. He wanted a fight, and now he's getting what he asked for!" Kihara yelled back, still pummeling the boy. He reached down and grabbed Accelerator's hair, yanking him up to his feet. "It's truly a shame kid. You had so much potential, but you're of no use to me anymore. So now it's time I finished disposing of the trash!" He wrapped his hand around Accelerator's throat and lifted him up off the ground. Accelerator started to thrash about wildly, struggling to free himself, but Kihara held him tight. The wheezes and gasps the young boy made grew weak as his kicking slowed.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" 37 ran towards Kihara, pulling the glove off of her right hand. She kicked Kihara's arm, causing him to drop the boy. She then swung her right arm up and slapped Kihara as hard as she could with her bare right hand. A nearly electric reaction sparked when she made contact. She drew back her hand and began to feel a deep pain burning in her chest. She began to cough roughly, sputtering up blood as she fell to her knees clutching her chest, gasping for air.

Accelerator watched helplessly as Kihara stood there, speechless for once. He brought a hand up to where 37 had slapped him as if checking to see if it happened. He attempted to use his ability, but nothing happened. With one slap in the face, she brought the strongest Level 5 down to a 0.

"You stole it! All that power... You stole it with that weak slap you stupid bitch... I'll kill you!" He kicked 37 in the ribs with such force that she landed dangerously close to the edge of the roof. He started towards her when the ground beneath him ruptured and forced him to stop. He looked towards Accelerator and saw the boy made it to his feet and had regained a small amount of his ability. Kihara faced the boy as they circled each other. When Kihara had made it back to the middle of the rooftop he stopped and started clapping.

"I may be an arrogant bastard, but I know when I've been beaten. Though I have to say, you shouldn't take all of the credit, Vector Boy. That sneaky little bitch did all the hard work for you. But it looks like the physical reaction to stealing a level 5's ability is painful, possibly even fatal. Which makes me feel a little better considering I won't have nearly as much fun without my abilities. But a good man always has a backup plan..." He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a hand-held detonator. "You may want to keep an eye on your girlfriend, Accelerator. It'd be a shame if you can't find all of her pieces after this!" He set off the detonator and almost immediately several explosions went off on the rooftop. "You're a resourceful kid. I'm sure we'll meet again. I'll look forward to finishing what we started here!" Kihara yelled as he disappeared through the exit.

"Dammit KIHARA!" yelled Accelerator as he turned back towards the direction 37 had been. She was laying on her side, barely conscious with blood running from her mouth. A tremor shook the foundation and caused the roof to split between them. 37 slid down towards the edge of the roof. Her nearly limp body had just gone over the edge when someone grabbed hold of her gloved left hand. She looked up to see Accelerator holding her as she hung over the side of the building.

"I got you 37, give me your other hand and I'll pull you up!"

She looked at her free hand, the one she had stolen Kihara's Esper power with and shook her head. "I'm sorry! I can't do that!"

"WHAT?! Come on 37, just give me your hand! I can't use my power to help you up right now! You can do it, just reach out!"

"NO!" she replied as she shook her head. "I won't take your ability like I did Kihara's!" Her coughing grew worse as she spat up more blood, her vision blurring. Whatever damage stealing Kihara's power had done, it had wounded 37 mortally.

"Is that what you're worried about, my power? I don't give a shit about it! Go ahead and take it, just give me your hand, NOW!" His grip on her was starting to weaken.

"I'm sorry! It wasn't supposed to end like this... I was supposed to fix you!" She yelled as the building shifted once again, causing Accelerator to lose his grip on her hand.

"I refuse to break you, Seiji!" were the last words he heard her speak. A chunk of the building struck her, rendering her unconscious as she fell to the street below.


	13. Chapter 13

"GAAAHHHHHH!"

The anguished scream that escaped Accelerator's lips shook him to his core. He couldn't stop himself from yelling, crying out for the first time in years. He stumbled back from the edge of the roof blindly, tripped and fell back. With his head in his hands he cried out once more, the pain he had tried to avoid for so long rushing over him. He stood up quickly and approached the edge of the building intent on going over the side.

"Accelerator wait!" yelled Yomikawa as she cautiously walked across the broken and weakened rooftop towards the boy. Once she got to him, she put her arms around him. The boy, emotionally and physically exhausted, didn't fight against her embrace and collapsed against her. "I'm so sorry, kid, but she's gone. If only we'd gotten here sooner."

"No, it... it's my fault," said Accelerator as he fought to get his emotions in check. "I wasn't strong enough to stop him. That's all there is to it. She'd still be here if I had enough power to beat Kihara."

"You don't know that, don't try to put this on yourself. That's not a burden for anyone to carry, least of all you. We need to get down from here to somewhere that's safe."

Accelerator pulled away from her and stood still. "Not my burden? Tch, lady you didn't see what happened up here! Not only was I not strong enough to save her I ended up causing her to... She stole Kihara's power from him to stop him from killing me. And now she's gone because of that! I don't care what you say; my weakness was her death sentence. That's going to be on my shoulders whether you try to sugar-coat this or not. This is why I never wanted to get involved with anyone else! This damn pain..." His anger had started to energize him, and he could feel his ability had gone back to normal.

"I understand your pain, Accelerator, now will you get off this building with me before it falls out from under us?" asked Yomikawa.

The boy looked down at the hand that had only moments ago held onto 37 and clenched it tightly into a fist. He walked steadily back to the edge of the building, looked back at Yomikawa and said, "Sure, but I think I'll take the faster way down. I'll see ya around, Yomikawa." He jumped off the building, using his ability to slow his descent and guide him away from the rubble that had collected on the street. As soon as he touched the ground, he used his power to take off.

Yomikawa could only see him for a moment before he was out of her sight. "I hope I will see you, kid. Be safe."

~~~~

Accelerator stopped at the safe house after leaving the SAI. He couldn't think of anything specific that he needed to take with him but felt he should look anyway. He just wanted to disappear, so much had happened in such a short time, he needed to step back and think about his next move. He entered through the giant hole that he made earlier, quickly going into his former room, throwing some extra clothes and other useful items into a backpack. He tried to avoid looking towards her room as he left, but couldn't help it.

"One more look, then I'm gone," he said to himself as he stepped back into her room. The mess was still the same as before. Apparently, no one stayed long once they figured out where Kihara was. His eyes scanned the room, stopping once again at her desk. That box that had been ripped open was there, and that bear...

 _Why does that bear look familiar..._ He remembered that there had been an envelope with Kihara's message written on the front. But in his haste he didn't look to see if it was empty. He pulled it out of his pocket and opened the envelope to find a birthday card inside. It was to him from her. He picked up the overturned desk chair and sat down as he started to read the card.

 **"Happy Birthday Seiji! You probably don't remember, but when we went back to the SAI a while back, I went to my room and found this bear. You gave it to me the day I found out I was moved into seclusion. I had been crying, you noticed and gave me this bear to cheer me up. And it did! I knew that this bear had been one of the very few belongings you had when you arrived at the Institute. But you wanted to make me happy, so you gave up something you loved to do so. You still have that selfless quality in you Seiji. I had told Yomikawa once a while ago that I believed there are people in this world that break and those that fix. Sometimes people need to change** with **their situation, but never lose sight of the fact that we're all capable of fixing what's broken around us. I think I rambled a bit too much for a birthday note, so I'll just stop here and wish you a happy 10th birthday, I'm sure it'll be a day to remember :) 37"**

 _"I'm sorry! It wasn't supposed to end like this... I was supposed to fix you! I refuse to break you, Seiji!"_

"Th-This is what she meant by that? What about me was she trying to fix?!" Tears began to well up in his eyes again. "I was only trying to get stronger, was that so terrible a thing to achieve? Breaking and fixing, I don't see sense in that philosophy 37, your reasoning must've been flawed somehow. I wasn't broken to start with! And even if I was, it wasn't your responsibility to fix me." He wiped the tears out of his eyes and stood up. He picked up the tattered old bear that he'd given to her and stared at it for a while.

"Building upon my power is the only way I can be sure to avoid having this happen again. If I'm so strong that no one will dare to mess with me, I won't have to go through this pain again. I don't need anyone else to get in the way of my goals and suffer for them. She died because she refused to hurt me and steal my ability. I know that, but wouldn't that mean she considered me weak without it? Whatever the case may be, that's going to change 37. I swear I'll prove to you that I wasn't broken. I won't let your death be in vain 37..." His eyes widened as he realized that she hadn't even had the chance to choose a real name before she died.

He slammed his fist against the wall closest to the doorway, effectively blowing out the middle section of the wall up to at least five feet away.

"Shit! No, I won't let you die as a number." He marched out to the living room and sat down at the computer desk. The computer was no longer working thanks to his outburst of destruction earlier in the day, so he grabbed a notepad and pen and started to write frantically.

...

An Anti-Skill officer approached Yomikawa cautiously. "Miss Yomikawa, our team hasn't been able to find anything or anyone in the rubble so far. Are you sure there isn't anywhere else that we need to-"

"I'm quite sure the girl that fell from this building landed in this area, so get your team back together and keep searching!"

"But ma'am, it's been several hours now. We've gone through this area numerous times. I'm sorry but there just isn't anything here. Should we call it in as a missing person report?"

She thought about it for a moment, "No, if you're certain this area is clear then we'll just have to widen our search area." The officer nodded and ran off to inform his team of the new orders.

Yomikawa wasn't sure how to handle this new circumstance. _If she's not here, is it possible that she's still...? No, I won't get my hopes up and report this just yet, not until we've cleared the entire scene. I should hold off on informing Accelerator as well. He needs time to himself right now._ She continued to patrol and observe the scene, remaining hopeful but realistic as they continued to search for 37.

...

He tried to imagine what she'd say with each name. He was sure he'd picked a name that would've made her happy. He stayed in the safe house longer than he planned, specifically to wait for Anti-Skill to finish their business at the SAI and leave the premises. Once they were gone, he went back to the building. The debris that had fallen from the rooftop had been cleared away for the most part, with some scattered piles pushed away from the main walkways. The steps leading up to the front doors were still in good condition, and here is where he stopped. He pulled the homemade sign out of his backpack and set it down against the side of the wall beneath the railing. He stepped back to look at the sign. "Rest in Peace, Sumire Yuuki" is what it said in clear, black lettering on the cardboard sign.

"I'm sure you would have preferred to have been involved in the name choosing process, but I'm sure you'd be happy with this one. You're more than just a number now, Sumire Yuuki. I know you had found out your family's name in your file, but screw them for not doing more to protect you from ending up at this place. I spent more time than I'd like to admit on this name thing, but I think it's an accurate one. 'Violet Courage' is the meaning, simple yet fitting for someone like you." He thought back to when he had first met her and how she had told him his real name.

"Seiji Roisin, eh? 'Pure Intention' isn't exactly where I'm headed right now. I'll stick with Accelerator. A one-way road to becoming Academy City's most powerful Esper is where I'm headed, and I haven't seen anything pure about this journey yet. Except you..."


	14. Chapter 14

**October 24th, 2006**

"Whoa! This part of the city looks like a war zone this morning!" exclaimed Kamijou Touma as he walked through the city looking for his new school. Of course, due to his considerable amount of bad luck, he had yet to find it. The detours that the collapsed building caused made this effort even more difficult. He slid down a side alley away from all the traffic and Anti-Skill officers and continued on his way.

"That building must have taken a beating for there to be rubble this far from the site. Wait a sec... What is that?" said Touma as he spotted a streak of purple against the dull earthy tone of the former building. As he approached he noticed a hand stretched out from beneath a pile of brick and splintered wood. _There's a person under there!_ He frantically began moving trash off of whoever had been trapped beneath it.

"It's... a girl!" he said as he reached out with his right hand to pull her out of the wreckage. "Hold on, I may not know where my new school is, but I know the hospital is close by, it'll be faster if I take you straight there."

The girl had slowly opened her eyes at that point to see this stranger holding her. "Don't... touch..." was all she could manage to say before fainting, her voice feeble and weak.

"Don't worry; I'm taking you to the hospital. The doctor I know there will be able to help you, I'm sure of it! Just hang in there, okay?" said Touma as he made his way through the back alleys, finally making it to the Emergency entrance to the hospital. As he carried her inside, Touma noticed that the doctor he knew, Heaven Canceller, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a doctor he wasn't familiar with approached them.

"Is she a victim of the explosion that happened earlier at the Institute building?" asked the doctor.

"I think so, I'm not that familiar with that area of Academy City yet, but I did find her beneath some rubble from a building. If you don't mind me asking, where's the regular doctor that is usually here?"

The strange doctor stared down at Touma, his attitude not as amicable as Heaven Canceller. "He's taken some leave, so I'm covering for him. I'll take the girl with me, she needs medical attention right now, not a game of Twenty Questions." As he said this, the man picked her up out of Touma's arms and started to walk away towards the inner rooms of the ER.

"Maybe it's just me, but I got an awkward vibe from that doctor. But I should leave them be so they can take care of her. I'll come back tomorrow to check on her." And with that, Touma left the hospital and once again attempted to locate his new school.

The doctor continued walking through the hospital, with Subject 37 unconscious in his arms. He entered into an area of the hospital that wasn't in use anymore and put the girl down on a waiting stretcher. From beneath it, he grabbed some blankets and very carefully wrapped 37 up in them, covering every area of exposed skin.

"Not taking any chances with you, Utsu-ru. Now to get you out of this disgusting city and back where you belong." The doctor removed his lab coat and name tag, revealing that he was no doctor at all, and began pushing the stretcher towards the back exit.

...

Early the next day, Touma arrived at the hospital to check on the girl with the violet hair.

"Hi, I came in here yesterday with a girl that was injured. I was wondering if you could tell me what room she's in?" he asked the receptionist in the main lobby.

"Sure, what is her name?"

"Uh, actually she wasn't awake when I found her, so I never got her name. But she was probably a few years older than me with long light purple hair. She was wearing what looked like a bodysuit, all gray. She was hurt bad, the doctor met me in the main lobby and took her back himself."

The receptionist typed the information into her computer, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, no one with that description was admitted here yesterday. I could have one of the nurses do a check if you want. It's also possible that her family could have had her transferred to their own doctor's care as well."

"I was hoping to see how she was doing, but if it's possible that her parents came for her, then I probably shouldn't interfere. Thanks for your help." Touma smiled and waved as he left the desk and exited the hospital. He still had that same uneasy feeling that first appeared when he talked to that doctor from yesterday. _Should I keep checking into this? It seems strange for her not to have any record of being here..._

"Hey, Touma! Did you ever find the new school building? What are you doing at the hospital?" yelled one of Touma's classmates from across the street.

"Oh hey there! No, I couldn't find it yesterday. I kinda got caught up in some stuff, and the hospital..." Touma said as he crossed the street to meet him.

"Haha, figures with that bad luck of yours, Touma. Come on, we can look together," replied his friend. As they walked away, Touma turned for one more look at the hospital. _I should just let that feeling go, it's probably nothing._ The two friends proceeded on their journey.

...

The strange man that took possession of 37 was now driving a large van out of the city. Behind him, several magicians gathered around the stretcher that 37 occupied.

"She's out cold, it may be a while before she comes back," said one of the men, Arthur Waite.

"Her power isn't controlled, for that, I blame her parents. They knew the potential she had yet did nothing to develop it. What use is she to us in this state, Robert?" Dion Fortune said, her cold tone representative of her current mood.

Robert Felkin replied, "None as she is now, this is obvious. But now isn't the time to be impatient or rash. Golden Dawn will see the collapse of Aleister's false power, and this girl is the key to his undoing. Considering her origin, our best course of action would be to leave her in the care of those who would do best to foster her power. They'd know best how to control and develop it properly. Once she is ready, we'll simply retrieve her."

"So you mean to bring her back to Musutafu? They'll never take her once they find out who she is and what she's being used to do! And what if they do find out and decide to fight against us?" asked Arthur.

"They'll have no way of finding out who she is, and she's known nothing of herself but a number. Their people are indeed strong with their so-called 'Quirks.' But they are also pacifists and have always kept their distance from the affairs of Magic. Once they identify her as manifesting a Quirk, they'll accept her without question," answered Robert.

"Well, there's no use doing anything if she doesn't wake up. Why didn't you let her get treated by that frog-faced doctor back in Academy City anyway, Paul?" Dion said to the man driving the van.

Paul Case sighed heavily before he answered her. "Because then she would have been even harder to retrieve, Fortune. He's got ties to Aleister, so any attempt to seize her after she came under his care would have revealed us."

"Paul is right, we'll just have to find a quiet way to treat her and then leave her for the people in Musutafu to find," Robert said as he looked down at the girl. "I know of a hospital just outside of the city that we could use."

They made it to the hospital and wheeled 37 in after Robert spoke with several nurses and doctors. Warning them of the danger directly touching 37 would present, they carefully examined her. One of the doctors revealed that 37 had fallen into a coma due to the traumatic injuries she had sustained.

"We can keep her monitored and comfortable, but there's no telling when she'll wake up from this severe of an injury," the doctor told the group.

Robert answered for them, "That's all we wish for the poor girl, but we are very sorry to have to take our leave. We were on a vital mission before we found her abandoned along the roadside. We're willing to pay for her care, my friend here can work out the details with you," he said as he gestured towards Arthur. "But if at all possible, if she does begin to awaken from her coma, we would like to be notified as soon as possible. We just want to learn more about the girl once she awakens."

"Certainly, that's very kind of you to be taking such care of a stranger. Leave your contact information with us, and we'll make a note of it in her chart to call you once she's conscious."

"Thank you for all of your help, Doctor. We'll be seeing you again soon, I hope," Robert said as their group started to walk out of the hospital lobby. He quickly caught up with them and noticed a faint red light bordering the doorway as he walked out.

"So you managed to set up the spell while we were speaking, Dion?" asked Robert.

"Of course, no one that leaves through any of the doors will remember us. They'll still know to call us when Utsu-ru wakes up, but they'll have no idea what we'll look like when we show up."

"Good. All that's left to do now is continue to work on our plan and wait."

It's a good thing Robert had mentioned remaining patient because it would be five years before they finally received their phone call.


	15. Chapter 15

**April 30th, 2011**

"Midoriya, we're going to miss the train if you don't hurry up," said Todoroki Shoto as the two left the UA High campus.

"Sorry Todoroki, I got caught up with my notes again," Midoriya Izuku replied as he frantically returned his notebook and pen to his bag and caught up with his classmate. "I guess Uraraka and Iida went on ahead today. Maybe we'll still catch them at the station though."

Todoroki nodded, "Possibly." He hoped they'd run into more people and waste more time on the way home. Missing the train wouldn't cause him any distress either. His home wasn't a place he liked to be. Not when _he_ was there, anyway. As they walked towards the station, something in motion caught his eye from the side alley they were passing. He paused and turned to see a figure shrouded in a cloak toss something suspiciously large aside.

"Hey, what is it?" asked Midoriya, who had walked ahead without realizing his friend had stopped.

"I'm not sure, but it looks shady," he said as he started to walk down the alley. The person noticed him approaching and started running away. Todoroki knew something was wrong now and began to run as well. He looked to see what they had left behind and immediately stopped when he saw it was a body.

"Todoroki, wait up! I don't know what you're... What the hell?" Midoriya stood still as he saw the body in front of them. She was a young woman with long violet colored hair. She was wearing nothing but a hospital gown, laid out among the trash of the alley. Across the front of her gown, the words 'No Direct Contact' were hastily written.

"Midoriya, take off your coat," Todoroki urgently said as he dropped his school bag and began to remove his. "I don't know what that message means, but she's got to be cold. We'll use our coats to warm her and as a precaution for that warning."

"Right, I wonder who she could be?" said Midoriya as he draped his coat over her legs and cautiously covered them. Todoroki began to wrap his jacket around her upper body, carefully avoiding touching her directly. As he lifted her up to slide his coat around her, he noticed the condition of the part of her back that wasn't covered by the hospital gown. _So many scars..._ Her low body temperature had brought a bluish hue to her skin and emphasized each mark.

 _What kind of monster could have done this?!_ Todoroki felt his anger rising. Seeing this girl's injuries brought back memories of the abuse he had suffered through not long ago from his father. "Let's get her out of here. Whoever she is, she deserves better treatment than this," he said as he finished covering her with his coat.

"Call Recovery Girl and give her a head's up on what's going on," said Todoroki as he carefully lifted the girl into his arms and began walking back to the school. He emitted heat from his left side in an attempt to regulate her temperature. _I wish I had been able to catch who left her here, at least we could have gotten some answers. No one should have to suffer this kind of brutality._

Recovery Girl and several teachers had gathered at the school entrance to meet them as they arrived. Midoriya had told the nurse what was going on and had explained the written warning on the girl's shirt. Todoroki gently laid her down on the waiting gurney. Her temperature had improved and had even regained some color to her face, but she was still unconscious.

"Don't worry about a thing boys, we'll handle it from here," said Recovery Girl as she pushed the bed towards her office, escorted by some of the teachers. Only the principal stayed behind with the two boys that found her.

"Great work, boys. Truly exemplary conduct for two heroes-in-training!" said Principal Nezu. "The message written on the young lady does leave us with quite a few questions though. We'll have to wait and see what our Recovery Girl finds out as she examines her. She's safe though that much is certain. You boys can rest easy; we'll take care of her and let you know how she's doing. Will you need a ride home? I'm not sure there are any more trains this time in the evening."

"Yes sir, that would be very much appreciated," said Midoriya as he and Todoroki both bowed to their principal.

"You're welcome, boys. And we'll return your coats to you tomorrow at school, so no worries about that. You two take care now."

"Yes, sir. And thank you again for the ride home," said Todoroki as they saw the car pulling up. Principal Nezu nodded and smiled, then turned about and walked into the school.

During the ride home, Midoriya couldn't help but notice that Todoroki seemed distant. "I'm sure they'll take good care of her, Todoroki. You know that Recovery Girl is the best nurse we could hope to have to treat her." His words didn't seem to ease his friend's mood. But after a short while, he did manage to get him to talk about it.

"Those wounds she had, all the scars that we saw. It disgusts me that someone could be walking about freely after causing so much pain to another human being." Todoroki grew more emotional as he dwelled on the girl and her situation.

Midoriya nodded in agreement. "It is horrible, and I hope once she wakes up, she'll let us know what's going on so we can help her. One thing I'm sure of is that as long as she's here with us, those will be the last injuries she'll ever have to endure."

"That's true, Midoriya. It looks like this is my stop, I'll see you tomorrow. Good evening," said Todoroki as the car came to a stop and he stepped out.

"Same to you, Todoroki. Have a great night," was his reply.

 _I appreciate the thought, but there's nothing great about coming back to this house._

...

37 slowly opened her eyes to a brightness that caused them discomfort. As they adjusted gradually to the light, her vision revealed she was in a hospital room. She looked around at her surroundings, growing confused and nervous. She tried to sit up, but she had neither the energy or strength to do so.

"The last thing I remember is falling. How did I end up here?" Even her voice sounded hoarse and cracked.

As she heard footsteps approaching, 37 tried to prepare for whoever was going to come through the door. A short, elderly woman she didn't recognize walked into the room.

"Ahh, I see you've woken up, dear. I'm Recovery Girl, the school nurse and I've been looking over you while you've been unconscious. I have some questions that are typically asked of patients with possible memory loss. What is your name? Do you know where you are? Are you aware of what the date or year is?"

"I... I've only been known as Subject 37. Am I still in the city? As for the date, I'm not sure. No one has touched me, have they? I can't be touched directly; it's too dangerous."

"No one has touched you. All the checkups I've done have been very careful to avoid contact. When they found you, there was a message that said 'No Direct Contact' on your hospital gown. Do you remember if that was something you or someone you know wrote?"

"No, the last thing I remember... Wait, how was I found in a hospital gown? Aren't I in the hospital from my fall off the SAI building?" 37 was already confused, and nothing was making sense to her.

Recovery Girl answered, "I'm sorry dear, but nothing like that has happened here. I'm not aware of any place called the SAI here in Musutafu. You were found a few days ago in an alley wearing a hospital gown with that message written on it. This place isn't a hospital, but my office inside of UA High School."

37 was growing more distraught now, "Where did you say this is? Musutafu? Why am I here? Where's Seiji?" Tears began to pool in her eyes as she started to panic.

"Shh, shh girl, calm down. You're in a town called Musutafu. I'm not sure who this Seiji is, but I'm sure we can find him for you. I'm only taking a guess, but I think you were getting treated somewhere else for the accident you mentioned but got taken from there. The boys that found you must have interrupted the plans of whoever had taken you. If you aren't familiar with this city, where are you from?"

"Academy City. I fell from a collapsing building. Seiji... He was trying to save me. But I... I refused... Now I don't know what's happened or how I got here." She began to cry as she wiped tears from her cheeks softly.

"It'll be alright honey, here let me just get a look at your vitals, and we'll go from there." Recovery Girl began to approach 37 with her monitoring equipment, but her patient cowered from her in fear.

"No! Please don't come near me! I can't take the chance of stealing another Esper power! I have no idea how I survived the last one, but please, no more!"

"Did you say Esper? Hmm... It's okay, I'll wait until you've calmed down to take your vitals. I apologize for upsetting you. If you'll excuse me, I have to make a phone call." Recovery Girl backed away from the frightened girl and made her way to the door.

37 asked suddenly, "What... What is today's date?"

"May 6th, 2011. I'll be right back." Recovery Girl left the room, closing the door behind her.

"2011... How have I lost five years?" With the condition her body was in, weak and frail, it's possible that she had been asleep that long. How much had her body atrophied in that amount of time? She had managed to calm herself, but the shock of learning that five years had passed was still too much to take in at once. She tried to get comfortable and lay down in her bed. Her body was exhausted, but her mind wasn't allowing her to rest.

"I can only imagine what's happened to you all these years, Seiji. I'm sorry."

On the other side of the door, Recovery Girl had made her call to Principal Nezu. "Nezu, It's Recovery Girl. The girl is awake, seems we got someone from Academy City here, a possible Esper. How would you like me to proceed?"


	16. Chapter 16

"And that's it for class children, be sure that you do your best to prepare for the UA Sports Festival next week, enjoy your weekend! Young Todoroki and Midoriya, I'd like to speak with you two in private, so please don't leave just yet," said All Might, their Foundational Hero Studies teacher. They gathered up their belongings and waited for their classmates to leave the room, who gave them questioning looks as they walked out. Once the room was empty, they walked over to their teacher at the front of the classroom.

"My boys, I'd just like to commend you for your actions earlier this week. A young lady is safe and sound because of your attentiveness and ability to act."

"So she's okay then?! Whew, that's a relief! We'd been worried about her since we left her with Recovery Girl the other day. See, Todoroki? I knew she would be alright. All Might, would it be okay if we visit her?" asked Midoriya.

All Might's smile wavered for a moment, and he paused before replying, "Well, as much as I'd like to say that would be wonderful, it would be wise to keep some distance from her for the time being."

"What?!" said the boys in unison. Todoroki continued to speak after their initial shock. "Why is that, All Might? Aside from that cryptic warning, she didn't seem dangerous at all."

All Might stared at his students as he furrowed his brow in deep thought, then made up his mind. "This information isn't to leave this room, understand? The only reason I'm sharing it with you two is the fact that you were the ones to find her. It only seems right that you become aware of her situation. From what Recovery Girl and the Principal have learned, the girl could have an ability stealing power. They're currently trying to confirm the existence of this power and learn what they need to do to prevent it from being used accidentally. Unfortunately, other than what she told Recovery Girl when she first woke up, she's refused to tell us anything else. The poor girl's been through a challenging experience. She understandably needs time, but for us to help her, she has to speak."

"Let me talk to her!" Todoroki blurted out. "Please, sir. I'll be very cautious of course, but I feel like I should at least try to speak with her," Todoroki said as he bowed towards his teacher. Midoriya and All Might both were surprised to see this kind of request from him. It was rare that he showed such concern for another person. He kept to himself most of the time, quiet but attentive. The urgency in his voice as he made his request was out of place for him.

"Well, I'll discuss the idea with the others and let you know what they decide. I have to say I'm rather surprised, young Todoroki. I was expecting Midoriya here to be the one to insist upon meeting with her, but since you were the one to find her, I can understand if you feel a certain... bond with the person you rescued. I'll let you know soon how we intend to proceed. Remember, children. Not a word of this to anyone. Have a great weekend."

"Yes, sir." said the two as they bowed and left the room.

 **May 8th, 2011**

Todoroki stood at the door to Recovery Girl's office, surprisingly nervous about what he'd find on the other side. He was grateful that the adults had decided to give him the chance to try talking to her. But now, he was having trouble figuring out what he wanted to say. He gently knocked on the door before opening it and saw the young woman he had saved lying on a hospital bed. She was on her side with her knees drawn up towards her body. Her eyes closed, but she didn't seem to be asleep. He walked in and stood in front of the chair that faced the bed.

"Hello, my name is Todoroki Shoto. I'm a first-year student at UA High School and I was the one that found you." He sat down in the chair and waited to see a reaction from her. "I understand that this must be very confusing for you, but you're safe now. No one here is going to hurt you." He noticed her eyes open as he talked about her safety. "But we can't help you if we don't know what's going on. I'll- err... we'll protect you, but you have to tell us from what."

37 watched him intently now, and he wondered if anyone else had gotten this much progress from her. "Well, if speaking about your troubles is difficult, why don't we start with who you are and where you live? I introduced myself when I first came in, but I don't know anything about you."

Her eyes went from his face to the bandages that were wrapped around his left arm. As he caught her looking, he reactively drew his arm up towards him, grasping it with his other hand.

"Are you wondering about this? It's nothing serious, just a small injury from the Sports Festival a couple days ago. It's nothing to worry about." His answer seemed to alleviate the worry she had shown subtlely.

"I don't have a name. Just a number, Subject 37," she replied to him. He found her voice soothing despite the lack of emotion in her words. "I'm from Academy City, and I don't know how I ended up here. My Esper ability makes it too dangerous for me to be around other people. I'm better off alone and secluded, I'm sorry that you wasted your time here, but you'd be safer if you stayed away from me."

Surprised by her bluntness, Todoroki was at a loss for how to respond. Should he listen to her advice and leave? Nothing would change if he left, so he tried to think of something to say. He never had trouble finding the right words to say in other stressful situations, why was it so hard now? He was reminded of his own sadness when he looked at her. His father's abuse and the regret he felt whenever he thought of his mother.

"I know how you feel, 37. I've had to deal with a lot of sadness and regret in my past. I still am, especially after what happened at the festival. At first, I felt like it was better to be isolated but now I'm not so sure that's true. Whatever it is, whatever the danger may be, I want to help you if you'll let me."

She slowly sat up, her limbs were weak and each movement seemed painful. She kept her eyes cast down towards the floor. "I can steal other Esper abilities, through direct skin contact. I can't control it and can't reverse it. If I steal your ability, it's gone forever. I'm sure you don't want to take the risk, and neither do I. The only thing I can expect from getting close to people is tragedy."

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't willing to take the chance to help you! A hero that looks the other way when someone needs assistance has no right to call himself a hero." He paused for a moment, giving himself time to calm down and compose himself once more before continuing the conversation. "What's an Esper, 37?" asked Todoroki, who had never heard the term before. "Is that what they call Quirks in Academy City?"

"I'm not sure what Quirks are, or if they're comparable to Esper abilities. Do you have an ability, Todoroki?"

"Yeah. My Quirk is "Half-Cold Half-Hot," my left side controls fire and my right side controls ice." He raised his right hand and formed several icey spikes on it. 37 looked on in amazement as he placed them in his left hand and immediately melted them with a small flash of fire. "Since we're in the nurse's office I kept it to a very minimal level. I'm quite capable of covering this building in ice if I wanted to."

"So you've got to be at least a Level 4 Esper! Possibly even a 5 with that potential for power!" she said as she slid herself further away from Todoroki. He noticed her move but didn't want to take the chance of her refusing to speak anymore if he acknowledged it.

"I'm still not sure what an Esper is, but I'll assume that's a positive thing. So what about you, what level are you?"

"I never actively tried to raise my level. It was too... difficult. The Institute didn't appreciate my refusal to improve either and tried to dispose of me."

 _Dispose of her?_ Todoroki felt the same anger again that he had as he discovered the scars and wounds on her body just days before. "Is this Institute... are they the ones that hurt you? That gave you all those scars?"

She looked away, as though ashamed over something he wasn't aware of just yet. Her voice trembled as she spoke, "I'm the only one to blame for them. Each one is a life I ended, even if not by my own hand. They are my reminder that my ability will never allow me to fix anything. Or anyone." Tears began to well up in her eyes as she stopped talking.

 _I'm upsetting her, I should probably leave that subject alone for now._ "Hey, hey, don't worry about it. So, what is it that you'd like to do, whether it's about your past or your present. What would you like me to help you with?"

37 seemed to relax once they changed to a different subject. "Well, there was a boy that I knew in Academy City. He was someone that I was trying to help. I'd like to find him, but I'm not sure I'd be welcomed back considering the way things were left between us. I may have unintentionally hurt him with my actions. Knowing that he's okay even if I don't get to be a part of his life anymore would probably be what I'd want most. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to face him though."

"37, I don't know you very well just yet, but I can tell you've endured a lot, and that in itself is a great source of strength. Don't doubt yourself, okay? I'll help you in any way I can as well. You should get some rest, but I hope to have the chance to speak with you again soon."

"I'd like that Todoroki, see you later," said 37 with a hint of a smile on her face. She turned away from him and laid back down, curling herself up again.

...

"That's great that you managed to get her to open up and share some of her past with you, my boy!" said All Might as they walked away from Recovery Girl's office. Todoroki had informed the staff what 37 had told him about her ability, so they had a better idea of how to treat her.

"I was confused about something, All Might. 37 referred to herself as an Esper. What is that?"

"Where she is from, Esper abilities are developed using Science. However, on the other side is Magic, which uses supernatural abilities from sources like spells, magic circles, that kind of thing. The two sides have had a long history of conflict. Those of us with Quirks tend to avoid getting involved in their affairs."

"So are Esper powers and Quirks the same thing?" asked Todoroki.

"No, our Quirks are a natural progression in human evolution. While some Espers have their abilities develop naturally, the majority of them are developed through very questionable and sometimes unethical Scientific methods. You could say that Quirks are more similar to some forms of Magic, which is more natural. If 37 is indeed an Esper, she must have had to deal with a lot to obtain the power she has." replied All Might.

"Is that so... Thank you for telling me, sir. I'll see you in class tomorrow," said Todoroki as he bowed and started walking away from his teacher and towards his home.

"You're welcome young Todoroki, and if you wish to speak with her again, you're welcome to come back anytime."

"Thanks, I appreciate that sir." _There is still so much more about this girl I'd like to know, after all._


	17. Chapter 17

**May 10th, 2011**

"Thank you for meeting with me today, everyone. I know you're busy with classes, so I'll try to keep this brief. Recently, a couple of our students saved a young lady from an unknown fate. The girl, who goes by Subject 37, or 37 for short, is apparently from Academy City and is believed to be an Esper." Some low murmurs accompanied Principal Nezu's last statement.

Aizawa raised his hand to speak. "Sir, we've done all we can to avoid involving ourselves in _that_ city's troubles. It's bad enough that the Science side thinks that we're supportive of the Magic side for no other reason than the similarity of our abilities. For the most part, they've avoided us as well."

"That is all true, Mr. Aizawa, and it is suspicious how she ended up in our city. Someone specifically took her from wherever she had been receiving treatment for her injuries and transported her here on purpose. It's just a theory at this point, but I don't believe it was the Science side that did it."

"What makes you believe that sir?" asked All Might.

"Because if she is indeed an Esper, what purpose could sending her out of the city have for them? With an ability like hers, she would be one of the more powerful Espers. They favor that kind of power, especially if it can be used against the Magic side. It seems more likely that someone or even a group of Magic users kidnapped her from Academy City and left her here to either keep her from being utilized by Science whenever their fight truly begins, or to find a way to manipulate her to fight on their side."

All Might nodded in agreement, "Yes, that does seem to be a likely strategy on their part. From what we've observed from 37, she doesn't act like she wants to use her ability, almost as though she's afraid of it."

Recovery Girl spoke up at that point, "I have a theory about that, All Might. If you're aware, 37 has a multitude of scars and wounds covering her body. I believe that whenever her ability is activated, her body is physically affected. It's almost similar to Midoriya's situation, where his Quirk is more powerful than his body can handle. Which makes me wonder if she is an Esper. What if she was manifesting Magic abilities, or even more surprisingly, a Quirk? I've heard rumors that in Academy City there is a defense mechanism that injures Magic users if they attempt to use spells or magic within the city. Her injuries could be the result of a reaction to whatever defenses they have there."

"It would make it more likely that Magic wants her for their fight against Academy City if she was using magic rather than a developed ability. If Academy City was trying to develop an Esper power in a natural Magic user, it's likely that physical harm would be a result. It's nearly impossible for someone to use both without putting themselves in danger," said the Principal.

"I think we should find out for ourselves what the nature of her power is. If it turns out to be Magic or even a Quirk, then perhaps we could help her to learn how to use and control it?" All Might suggested to the group.

Aizawa responded, "Well, first of all, I think we should decide whether or not we want to involve ourselves with her situation at all. By helping her, we'll be inserting ourselves into a conflict that we've been avoiding for many years. Are we prepared to handle whatever backlash there may be?"

The teachers looked at each other, they all seemed hesitant to get their world involved in the ongoing Science and Magic situation. All Might was the first to speak up. "Our politics involving Academy City aside, a young lady is in need of help. How could we truly call ourselves heroes if we just looked the other way? Like I mentioned to young Midoriya not so long ago, meddling when you don't need to is the essence of being a hero!"

"Well said, All Might. So are we at least in agreement that 37 should be protected despite whatever we decide to do?" Everyone present nodded in agreement with the Principal. "All right then. As long as she accepts, we'll take her in as a ward of U.A. High and find out the nature of her ability. Once we know what we're dealing with, we can have a better chance of helping her learn how to use and control it so she can feel more at ease. Recovery Girl, I'd like for you to be in charge of identifying her ability. All Might and Aizawa, I'll leave her in your care while she's in school. She'll likely be more comfortable in class 1-A since she's already familiar with Todoroki and Midoriya. It's important that we allow her to feel like a normal student. We should try to avoid causing her further distress while she recovers. Thank you all for being here, good day."

 **July 1st, 2011**

"You've done very well with your rehab sessions 37. I dare say that your muscles are nearly back to the condition they were in before your accident. To accomplish so much in just two months is extraordinary!" said Recovery Girl as 37 sat back down after finishing her latest workout.

"My body does heal a little faster than most people. I know your ability could speed it up even faster, but I'm still not comfortable with taking the chance, I'm sorry." replied 37.

"There's nothing to worry about, dear. I'm just happy to see you making progress. Speaking of progress, the testing results for the origin of your ability should be coming at any time now."

37 nodded at the news, "I'm a little anxious to find out what this ability is. I never knew much about my family, so I can't say for sure where I'm from or who I am. All I'm sure of is my parents died, and no one was left to care for me. A family friend was the one to leave me at the Institute. Now I wonder if there is a possibility I'm not originally from Academy City."

Recovery Girl smiled at the young lady before her, "You won't have to wonder much longer, dear. Now run along, I believe your friend Todoroki is waiting for you. I'll call you when it's time."

37 nodded and stood up to leave. She had gotten to the point where she only needed a cane to help keep her balance as she walked. "Thank you Recovery Girl, for everything," she said as she left the room. Todoroki had been standing outside the door to the nurse's office. "Oh, hey Todoroki. How are you today?" she asked.

"I'm doing well, how have you been 37? Did you get your results back yet?" replied Todoroki as they started walking down the hall together.

"Not yet, Recovery Girl said she'd call me when they're in though. To be honest, I'm a little nervous."

Todoroki wasn't quite sure how to respond, he didn't have much experience with comforting anyone, much less a girl. "Well, it won't be long now. Is there a specific result you'd prefer if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, I always assumed I was an Esper, but if there's a way that it could be Magic or a Quirk, I think I'd rather it be one of those. Being an Esper only brought me sadness and pain. I couldn't change anything about what I was. But if I had a Quirk or Magical ability, then perhaps I could change my ability or even get rid of it entirely. I never wanted this power in the first place..."

"I... understand how you feel. There were times back when I was training with my old man that I wished I didn't have my Quirk. A lot of pain could have been avoided if I had been born without it." Aside from his conversations with Midoriya during the Sports Festival, he never spoke of his past to anyone. For some reason, it was easy to talk to 37. He was grateful for these talks with her. Even when the discussion turned to dark subjects like their pasts, he felt better after speaking to her. She still kept most of her history to herself, but he thought that she was getting more comfortable and would open up eventually. He wondered why she was keeping whoever hurt her a secret. He hoped one day she would tell him so he could make sure they don't lay a hand on her again.

"I-I didn't realize your ability caused you so much pain. It's an amazing power, you can use it to make a lot of positive change in the world," 37 said as she approached the door to her room.

Todoroki felt his face get a little hot; her comment caught him off guard. "Uh... yeah. I suppose it could. Same for you 37, try not to think too negatively about yourself either. Get some rest, I'm sure your rehab must have been tiring."

"Hey there Todoroki, hi 37!" yelled Midoriya as he jogged down the hallway to catch up to them. "I heard that you'd be joining us in class soon, is that true?"

"Hello Midoriya, yeah that's true. I'm a little older than a typical first-year student, but Principal Nezu and All Might think it would be good for me to be present for your lessons."

"That's awesome, I'm sure you'll like it. It's just too bad that it'll be so close to the summer break! Are you ready to walk to the station, Todoroki?" Midoriya asked.

"Yeah, I suppose," he answered with slight disappointment in his voice. He knew Midoriya didn't intend to, but mentioning going home spoiled the good mood he had been in during his time with 37. He knew that his father would be there, and he didn't want another confrontation like they had at the Sports Festival. His father was already pissed about him visiting his Mom, but he didn't care.

"I'll see you soon, Todoroki. Thank you for walking me to my room, I always enjoy our little chats," she said with a smile. He had grown to look forward to that smile whenever they met. Something about it was encouraging, and it helped him to feel slightly better about going home.

"Yeah, same to you 37. Let me know what you find out from Recovery Girl. I hope you get the outcome you want. See you later." He watched her enter her room and close the door behind her. Whenever they parted ways, something always seemed to feel missing.

"Everything okay, Todoroki?" asked Midoriya as he stepped closer to his classmate.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good. Let's get going, or we'll miss our train." They started out towards the station, and Todoroki noticed something as they walked. Midoriya was a lot closer to him than 37 was when they were just walking together. That's when he realized what had been missing between him and 37.

It was a lack of closeness. A lack of contact. Numerous times during their walks, he felt the desire to hold her hand. He wished that she wouldn't stand at such a distance to him. She didn't want to risk accidentally stealing his ability, so she always made sure it wouldn't be possible. He accepted this as the standard routine for meeting with her, but as he came to this realization, it made him feel hurt. His feelings for her had grown since they first met, and this type of pain was different from any he had experienced before. It went directly for his heart with expert precision, and he wasn't sure how to relieve it. He wasn't sure how to address it either, or if he should mention it to anyone.

...

37 sat down at her desk to read the class notes that Midoriya and Todoroki had lent her. She thought of how friendly they were, especially Todoroki. The time they spent together was precious to her, and she felt a warmth in her heart that she had a hard time identifying. She wanted to tell him more about herself but always fell short of doing so. She feared that letting him get too close would end the same way it had between her and Accelerator. She couldn't stand the thought of it, so she kept Todoroki at a distance.

The phone ringing snapped her out of her thoughts, and she quickly answered, "Hello, this is 37 speaking."

"37, this is Recovery Girl, we have the results of your tests. Your biological makeup is that of a person manifesting a Quirk, dear. However, there's something else that came up during our research. I'm sending All-Might to your room to escort you, if needed he'll carry you since I'm sure you're tired. We've found some information on your family, and I'm sad to say it's not very positive."


	18. Chapter 18

"While we were waiting for the ability testing results, some of the staff decided to do some digging on your family's name, Utsu-ru. You said that they had died while you were young and a family friend had taken you to the Institute you grew up in, right?"

"Yes, that's all I know about my past. There was an accident, and my parents didn't make it," said 37.

Recovery Girl looked at her, then looked at All Might and Principal Nezu before continuing. "Well dear, the first few records that we found did support what you know. But, we found out by digging deeper that it wasn't quite true. In reality 37, your parents were murdered."

"What?! Who would want to kill them? I don't remember them, but I wouldn't say they were evil or anything."

"It wasn't a matter of who they were, 37, it was the fact that they were protecting you. Their Quirks were powerful, and they drew the attention of some bad people. They were asked to join a shadowy group of people but refused. They had kept your existence a secret from everyone, because of the potential strength of your Quirk. If that group found out about you, they feared you'd be taken away. That is why there are no birth records for you. Sadly, it wasn't enough to keep you hidden. Eventually, the villains raided your home. Your parents put up a fight with their abilities, but it wasn't enough."

37 didn't know how to process this. She had only known a bare minimum about her family. And now there was an overload of information, and none of it was positive. "So... The 'family friend' that brought me to the SAI... He was one of the people that killed my parents? Why take me so far from where I lived? Why would they leave me at that horrible place?"

All Might stood up and walked behind 37's chair and put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Young lady, we're very sorry for all that's happened." 37 shrank away from his touch, her body trembling as she struggled to maintain her composure. All Might realized his mistake and withdrew his arm, apologized, and took his seat once more.

Principal Nezu spoke up as well. "Yes, we're very saddened by the events that we uncovered about your past. It's hard to say what their reasonings were behind their actions. We had struggled with whether we should tell you after everything that's recently happened to you. In the end, we felt that you knowing more about your past would be better than being kept in the dark. As for the person that brought you to the SAI, we have a theory that the group we mentioned are Magic users that wanted to recruit your parents to fight against Academy City. I assume they were familiar with the type of development they did at the Institute and decided to let them train you on how to use your ability. Whether they knew about the physical side effects of that isn't clear. I believe that they wanted you to fight the Science side."

"I don't want to fight anyone!" yelled 37 as tears fell from her eyes. "All my life others have wanted to control me for their own purposes and goals. I never wanted this ability, this Quirk! And now I find out that my only family is dead because of it. So that's all the more reason to find a way to get rid of it!"

"Now, now 37 calm down. We're not going to require you to do anything you don't want to do here. If you want to learn how to control your Quirk, we'll gladly help you to do so. And if you'd rather not use it at all, we'll help you find a way to make that happen as well. But please, don't feel like what happened to your parents was your fault. The people that attacked them for their abilities are to blame, not you," said the Principal with a calm, reassuring voice.

37 rubbed her fists against her tear-soaked eyes. She was tired before this meeting, and her sudden outburst of emotion had only added to her exhaustion. "I... I think I should just get some rest. Things are so chaotic right now; maybe after some sleep, I'll have a clearer head about all this."

"Certainly, I'll escort you back to your room," said All Might, who instantly swept her up into his arms. She said her goodbyes to the Principal and Recovery Girl before All Might excused himself from the conference room. Before he could get to her door, she had already begun to doze off in his arms.

"Poor girl, this was far too much to take in at once. We should have waited a little longer," he whispered as he laid her on her bed and tucked her in for the night.

 **July 7th, 2011**

"Alright class, although I know summer break is in two weeks, we're getting a new student today. She isn't a typical first-year, and a few of you already know her. I have to say this though. While you're encouraged to befriend her or whatever you kids consider making friends is these days, she has a particular Quirk that requires some caution. We've taken some precautions to help lessen the danger, but no contact must be made with her skin. Her Quirk allows her to steal other people's Quirks by direct skin contact. So unless you'd like to lose the abilities that you're here to train, be nice but also be careful. I'll bring her in now." Aizawa stepped out of the room and closed the door.

"Wow, that's a crazy Quirk to have, don't you think Deku?" said Uraraka Ochaco as they prepared to take their seats.

"Yeah, it will be interesting to see what we can learn from it. I'd bet that it would be a great asset for her when it's developed and controlled!"

"And there you go starting with your analysis; she hasn't even been formally introduced yet! I'm a little concerned about Aizawa's warning though. Do they think it's safe to have someone with such a Quirk interact with us?" wondered Uraraka.

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about, she wouldn't purposely use her Quirk on anyone!" Midoriya said to help ease his friend's mind. He noticed Todoroki shooting him an unamused glare. He then realized that he had just given away the fact that he had prior knowledge of the new student.

"So you're one of the ones that already know her, Midoriya? Why didn't you mention her to us earlier?" said Iida Tenya, the class president for class 1-A.

"Well, uh. You see..."

Todoroki approached the group, "He wasn't allowed to talk about it. Neither of us could for security reasons. She's a very nice person, but insecure about her Quirk. She's also been through a very traumatic ordeal we can't elaborate on, for now, so please try not to upset her." He returned to his seat, with almost all of the eyes in 1-A focused on him. None of the other students had ever heard him speak like that about another classmate before and were rightfully shocked.

"Sounds like someone's got a girlfriend!" said Ashido Mina from her seat at the front. Todoroki's face blushed, and he had begun to respond when the classroom door opened. 37 walked into the room, followed by their teacher Aizawa. She was wearing a UA High gym uniform that completely covered her arms and legs. Matching gloves were added to the outfit, and she interlaced her fingers as she stood at the front of the class.

"Whoa, there's no way she's young enough to be a first-year!" said Kirishima Eijiro.

"You're correct Kirishima, I explained beforehand that she wasn't a typical first-year, did I not? However, her unique situation has made it necessary to provide her with the education and learning that she has missed out on over the years. Her age is of no consequence here. She is here to learn just the same as you are."

"That might be easier if she wasn't so hot," Kirishima muttered to himself as he crossed his arms and sulked.

Aizawa continued, "Now that we got that out of the way, this is 37. Yes, not a typical name either, but we just go with what we're given here. Please introduce yourself, 37."

Surprised to be put on the spot, 37 blushed and bowed to the class. "Uhm... Hello, everyone. My designation is Subject 37, or 37 like Mr. Aizawa said. I'm new to Musutafu, but apparently, this is where I'm from originally. My situation is a little... complicated right now, but I look forward to learning with you all. Thank you."

"Good, you can take your seat in the back, 37. And we'll pick up where we left off yesterday, class. In your Hero Studies book, page 78..."

37 walked to the back and took her seat, but even though the class faced the front and watched the teacher, she still felt like all eyes were on her. She kept her eyes focused on the textbook and followed along with the lesson. When class was over, she was suddenly surrounded by people. Everyone wanted to introduce themselves and ask questions. Her anxiety increased as the people got closer, but she tried her best to be polite. Just as she was about to succumb to a panic attack, a loud voice echoed through the room.

"EVERYONE BACK UP!" The crowd around her did as the voice commanded, and she saw that it was Todoroki that had shouted it. "She gets nervous when people get too close. Just give her a decent amount of space, and I'm sure she'll be more comfortable talking to you all."

"Oh no! We're so sorry 37, we had no idea! If you ever feel uneasy about anything just let us know, okay?" said Uraraka apologetically.

"Or she can just have her boyfriend keep an eye on her, hehe."

"Hey shut it, Pinky!" said Kirishima. "You say that, and it means none of us manly guys have a chance!" The two bickered back and forth as they walked away from 37's desk.

"Well, I guess it's time to go home for the day, would you like to walk with us to the station, 37?" asked Uraraka.

37 was surprised to be invited to hang out. She felt a little sad that she had no reason to go to the station since she lived in the school.

"I don't need to go to the station, I'm living here for now. But thank you for the invitation, I appreciate it," 37 said as she collected her books into her bag and stood up.

"Oh, I wasn't aware of that. Would you like to come with us anyway though? We'd be happy to get to know you better. I know we're a pretty rowdy bunch, but we're all pretty cool people once you get to know us!" replied Uraraka.

"Yeah, except for Mr. Explosion over there. He has the personality of an overheated dog turd," laughed Kirishima as he pointed towards Bakugo Katsuki.

"Hey Rock-Head, better watch what you say, I'll kill you!" exclaimed Bakugo.

"See what I mean! Haha!"

37 smiled, her first time all day doing so. "Sure, I was just going to go back to my room, but I think I could use a walk outside."

"Awesome! We can show you all the sights around town, maybe get something to eat before we get to the station. There are so many things to choose from, you won't know where to begin!" said Uraraka.

"Sounds like fun, I'll be ready to go in just a sec," she said as the crowd of classmates filed out of the room. Once she was the last one in the classroom, she sat in the closest seat and put her head into her hands and propped her elbows on the desk.

"What's wrong, 37?" said Todoroki, who had stepped back into the room to grab his bag. She lifted her head and smiled at him.

"It's nothing, I just felt a little overwhelmed for a moment. It's been a very long time since I've been around so many people at once."

"Do you want to just go to your room, then? I can walk with you if you like," offered Todoroki.

37 shook her head, "No, no that's not necessary. I'm okay now, I'm looking forward to going out to walk. I just needed a quick breather. Oh, thank you for earlier with asking them to give me some room. I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes, Todoroki," she said as she smiled and stood up once again and left the room with him to join the others.

 _Funny, I've been thinking the same about you, 37._


	19. Chapter 19

**Academy City, August 25th, 2011**

"Now did you really think you were going to get away with that, old timer?" said Accelerator as he backed the older man against the alley wall. "Thanks to some piss-ant Level Zero ruining my chances of finishing my latest experiment, I've suddenly been left with a lot of free time on my hands. Unfortunately for you, that means I caught you snooping around one of my hangouts, so you better start talking. I'm in the mood for a good story."

The man didn't react with fear like most of Accelerator's victims once they realized who they were facing. His inaction made Accelerator's anger grow. Using his Vector Transformation, he tapped the wall behind them and knocked the man down with the misshapen brick and concrete he had altered.

"Are you a spy for some other company? Maybe you got wind of the last experiment I was doing and wanted a piece of the action? Well, sorry to tell you but that's not moving forward. The cannon fodder turned out to be a little more... livelier than I had expected. But that doesn't mean the fun has to end! No, not when I have creepy weirdos like you sneaking around where they don't belong."

"Look, kid. I see you have a decent amount of power, but you don't want to start anything with the group I represent or me. While it's unfortunate that you happened to catch me while I was on a job, that doesn't mean that we can't just go our separate ways and move on with our lives." He brushed the crumbled concrete debris off of himself as he stood up and walked closer to Accelerator.

"Haha, that's where you're wrong, friend, I don't play that whole 'live and let live' crap. You're really starting to piss me off, so how about you just shut your mouth and accept your punishment." Just as Accelerator was about to use his Vector Control to start choking him, someone came running around the alley's corner and into view of the whole scene.

"Hey, it's you again! What, you got tired of beating and killing girls, so you're moving on to the elderly now?!" said Kamijou Touma as he recognized Accelerator as the guy he had fought and defeated only days before. Their fight and his surprising win were the reason the Sister's Project was now suspended indefinitely.

"That Level Zero! Oh man, you have a bad habit of showing up when you're not wanted! And despite what you may think, this old bastard deserves what's coming to him. But rest assured Zero, once I finish with him, we'll have ourselves a rematch." He noticed that Touma was staring at the older man that he had pinned against the wall. "What, relative of yours or something?"

"No... But I've seen this man before. It's been a while, but... I know! It was back a few years ago when I brought that girl to the hospital. You took her out of my arms and then disappeared! I went back to check on her, but no one had any records of her being admitted to the hospital. What happened to that girl with the purple hair? Who was she?"

Accelerator's eyes grew wide with shock when he heard Touma describe the girl. "What did you say? About the girl, what did she look like? How do you know her?"

"Well, it's been four or five years, but I can't forget that long violet hair. I was looking for my new school and found her injured in an alley like this one. I brought her to the hospital, and this guy was the doctor on staff and took her from me in the lobby. Something didn't sit right with me after that, but I brushed it aside as nothing."

The older man looked at Touma and smiled, "Well, who would have thought I'd end up crossing paths with you again, kid. The girl's fine, that's all you need to know. Listen to this albino bastard and take off while you still have time. This is setting me back with my duties enough as it is." Suddenly, Accelerator sent a chunk of the damaged wall flying through the air, striking the older man against his temple, knocking him out cold.

"Now that he's quiet, I want to know why you thought it would be a good idea to hand her over to some creepy fuck like this guy?! Well, first I should ask, was she wearing a gray bodysuit?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I do remember she was wearing something like that, with her hair out. Wait, you weren't the one that... Were you the one that hurt her?" Touma asked.

Accelerator didn't hear the question he was asked, once he'd learned what the girl looked like he was stunned and speechless. _There's no way... How could she have survived the fall or even the stress of stealing Kihara's power? But if there's a chance she's still alive and out there somewhere..._

"Hey! I asked you a question, and I want an answer! Did you hurt her? She was covered in that building's debris when I found her, did you cause that building to collapse? If so, then you're angry with the wrong person here! I brought her to the hospital to save her life. Back then I had no reason not to trust someone that looked like a doctor! Although, I did feel like something wasn't right, but didn't act on it."

Accelerator barely paid attention to Touma's rambling. The possibility that Sumire Yuuki was still alive stirred up feelings that had been hidden away for five years. The night he turned ten played in his mind like a film reel. He remembered her slipping out of his grasp and falling away from him, as though in slow motion. The last words he'd heard her speak, telling him that she refused to break him echoed within his mind. He'd used all the experiments and training after that to dull the pain of loss, to forget the reason for it. He thought he had succeeded, but the ache in his chest only emphasized his failure in that as well.

"You've become a much lower priority, Zero. Stay out of my way, I'm going to find out what this son of a bitch did with her."

Touma answered back, "Not likely, pal. Me not listening to my instincts when it came to letting her go with him are part of the reason she's gone now. I need to make this right, and whether you want me there or not, I'm going to help find her."

Accelerator stared Touma down, then relented, "Fine, but don't get in my way. If you slow me down, I won't hesitate to tear you apart. My patience with this matter is not something you want to test right now."

"Fair enough, now we need to start getting some clues. If this guy was still conscious we could try to get some info out of him," said Touma as he tried slapping the old guy in the face to try to wake him up.

Accelerator tapped his foot on the ground next to the old man and used his ability to lift him off the ground and suspend him in the air, almost as though he was standing on his own two feet. "Or we could just search the guy and see what we can find on him. An old-timer like him probably won't be as tech-savvy as us," he said as he started rummaging through the man's pockets. He pulled out some papers and began to examine each one. "His name is Paul Case. All this crap looks like a bunch of nonsense to me. Golden Dawn, what the hell is that anyway? That name sounds like an old folk's home. Wait, there's an address that isn't in Academy City."

"Let me see, I've spent some time out of the city, so maybe I'd recognize it," said Touma. "Yeah, I'm familiar with that area, it's a small town. The only thing of note there is the hospital. Maybe that's where she was taken, or even where she may still be?"

Accelerator nodded as he pulled out his cell phone and made a call. "That's possible, I'm getting in touch with someone that may be able to provide more detail to this Golden Dawn crap."

"Yomikawa speaking," said the voice on the other end of the line.

"It's me, I have a question for you. Does the name 'Golden Dawn' mean anything to you?" asked Accelerator.

"Hello to you too, kid. Nice to hear from you, although you only get in touch when you need something. As for the name, I've heard of them, but I don't have very much background information on them. Historically, they're a Magic cabal that used to carry a lot of power within the Magic community. Rumor has it that some of the higher-ups in Academy City used to be involved in stuff like that. Don't quote me on that though; you know how rumors are in this city."

Accelerator nodded, "Yeah, I'm well aware. Thanks for the info..."

"I heard what you've been up to lately, kid. I'm in no place to pass judgment, but I don't think she'd be very proud of the way you're doing things."

"Oh yeah? Well maybe I'll find out for myself what she thinks," he replied as he hung up the phone, clenching his fist. As he put his phone back in his pocket, he turned back to Touma. "Guess it's time for a road trip, we're going to check out that hospital."

...

"Hello boys, is there something I can help you with?" said the nurse at the front desk.

"Yes, we're here to check on a patient that may have been admitted here. It's possible she could still be here. She had long violet hair, and was probably very seriously injured when she was brought in," said Touma, who had to argue with Accelerator for quite a while before it was decided that he should do the talking.

"Oh yes, I know who that is. She was brought here by... by... Now that's strange, I know she was found injured on the side of the road, and some kind people offered to pay for her care. I just don't remember who they were or what they looked like! But yes, there was a young lady here that was in a coma for quite a while, nearly five years if I recall."

Accelerator blurted out, "Well where is she now?"

The startled nurse answered him, "I... I think someone from her family came to get her once she started showing signs of consciousness. Let me go pull her file." As the nurse started rifling through the filing cabinet, Touma glared at Accelerator, to which he just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Ahh yes, here it is. Hmm, she was admitted here five years ago like I thought, and there's a note in here to call this number when she started to wake up. I don't remember who it was, but I do remember her leaving here. Although it was odd that she left in her hospital gown, they didn't have a change of clothes for her. I suppose since she was in the hospital for so long, it would be hard to know what size clothes to bring for her."

"Thank you; you've been a lot of help Miss. You wouldn't happen to know of any places near here that she may have gone?" asked Touma.

"Well, if she was from the area, she may have been going back to Musutafu. With a Quirk like hers, she could do a lot of good as a hero," replied the nurse.

Both Accelerator and Touma looked puzzled and answered back in unison, "What's a Quirk?"


	20. Chapter 20

**Musutafu, August 26th, 2011**

"Did you see that guy that just walked past us? He had a... a bird's head! They weren't kidding when they were talking about all the different types of Quirks!" said Touma as the two Espers approached the grounds of UA High. He hoped to find Accelerator's friend quickly. He didn't like the thought of leaving Index on her own for any length of time, but it couldn't be helped in this instance. Bringing her here while the Church was still looking for her would have been ridiculous. He just hoped that she wasn't causing his teacher Miss Komoe any trouble while she was staying at her apartment. He kept walking towards the back of the school with these thoughts going through his mind and completely missed seeing Accelerator split off and continue on to the front of the school.

"It's bad enough I had to ride with that loser all the way here, I'm not going to be led around like a damn pet. I can find her on my own." He continued down the main street that the high school faced and stood at its large gate. Looking around, he noticed it wasn't as crowded here as it was in Academy City, although there were just as many buildings. He wouldn't exactly call it peaceful, but Musutafu lacked the tension that seemed to hang in the air of Academy City. He started walking towards the far side of the building when several students exited the gate behind him.

Todoroki stepped through first, followed by Midoriya and 37. They continued on their way to the local store.

"Thanks for stopping by to get me on your way to do some shopping, it's such a nice day to get outside and walk!"

Todoroki enjoyed seeing 37 when she was this cheerful. A few months ago, she had been depressed and withdrawn, but you'd never believe it now. "It's nothing. Just thought you'd like to get out of the school for a while. Especially with all the extra work you've been doing."

"Yeah, exactly! And I know you were only in class a short time before our summer break began, but I think you're doing great, 37. Do you feel like you're getting a better grasp on your Quirk?" asked Midoriya.

"I feel like I have more of an understanding of it. During the summer break, I've been training how to suppress it. It still takes a lot of energy to do, but I can fully control it for a short time if necessary. It makes me wonder though if my ability wasn't an Esper one..." Her words left her as she looked ahead of the group. Was she only seeing things? The white-haired person in front of them couldn't be who she'd been worried about since she woke up from her five-year slumber. Her expression reflected the surprise and confusion she felt, and the boys caught on quickly.

Todoroki spoke up first, "What's wrong? Is it something about your past?" He looked in the direction she was staring, suspicious of the guy wearing a black shirt with sharp white lines.

"It... It can't be him!" was all 37 could manage to say. Todoroki could only assume that he had something to do with her past. He stood in front of her and called out to him. "Hey, you over there! Just what do you think you're doing here?"

Accelerator stopped and turned to see if the voice that had just yelled out was referring to him. A young guy around his age faced him by the entrance of the school along with a couple of other students. Not a very intimidating presence, but he still managed to get his attention.

"Just stopping in for a visit. What, are you the welcoming committee or something? I don't have time to meet your student council or whatever you punks are." The girl that had been hidden behind the red and white kid revealed herself slowly. Accelerator fell silent as he saw the long purple hair cascading down her back and over her shoulder. The clothes she wore were much more colorful than the drab gray bodysuit he'd last seen her wearing. Five years had seen her grow slightly taller. Her body had gained more curves as well. She even still laced her fingers together back and forth. There was no doubt that it was 37.

"37! But how... How did you survive it? Are these bastards the ones that took you away from Academy City?" yelled Accelerator. He watched as the two boys that were accompanying her get in defensive poses in front of her. "Oh, what's this? You think you can take me on kids? Fine then, I've been curious to see what happens when an Esper faces off against a Quirk!"

Todoroki observed the albino kid carefully. He heard him ask how she survived, so he must have been involved with that Institute. He looked back at 37, who was shaking as tears started to collect in her eyes. _This is the guy. He's the one that's responsible for her scars. There's no way she'd react that way to anyone but her abuser._

"Midoriya, take 37 and stand back. I'm not going easy on this guy, and I don't want either of you caught within my ice attacks."

"Right, let's go 37!" said Midoriya as he grabbed her gloved hand and led her away from the two that were facing off.

"Wait, just wait!" 37 sobbed as she went. "You don't have to do this, he... he's..." She couldn't get the words that she needed to say out. Her throat felt like it was closing up. Only tears managed to find their way through.

"I'm not sure what you think you're going to accomplish here, punk. But if you're brave enough to stand up to me, I'll gladly oblige," said Accelerator as he started to focus on the Quirk user in front of him. Identifying his Quirk was impossible, nothing about his appearance gave any clues to what this kid could do. He'd just have to wait until he made a move and defend against it on the fly.

"If preventing you from hurting her again is all I accomplish from this, then it'll be worth it. I've seen the scars you left on her, you sick bastard! I'll kill you before you even step one foot closer to her!" Todoroki said as he unleashed a giant ice wall in Accelerator's direction.

"Ah, so you have an ice manipulation ability!" said Accelerator, staying still as the glacier approached. Just as the ice was about to hit him, he held out his hand, and shattered the ice as it made contact with him. Chunks of ice were sent back towards Todoroki, who created a thick wall of ice in a semi-circle in front of him to shield himself from the counter-attack.

 _He has some barrier ability. He had to touch the ice to get it to activate though._ Todoroki knew he needed to come up with a way to get past this person's power. He decided to coat the ground beneath him in ice to make the guy lose his balance. But just as the ice got close to him, the guy with the white hair and menacing look tapped his toe against the ground and vaulted up into the air, completely avoiding his attack. _Damn it! What am I missing here? Long-ranged attacks are useless, but close-quarters fighting seems just as foolish. Should I switch to my left side?_

"I have to say, although the sheer force of your power is impressive, you're nothing more than a glorified ice machine. I'm not here to play around or build a snowman with you. I'm taking her back, and no one here is going to keep me from doing so." At that, Accelerator touched the rails on the nearby fence, and each iron rod twisted free of the frame and lined up in front of him. "Time to say goodbye," he said as he sent the rods slicing through the air and towards Todoroki.

"Argh!" yelled Todoroki as he swiftly dodged the bulk of the projectiles, creating blocks of ice to slow the remainder down. One of the rods got through his defenses and struck him in his left side, knocking the air from his lungs and bringing him down to one knee. Holding his injured side with his left hand, he looked back at Accelerator. "Is that all you've got? I have to say I'm rather underwhelmed here."

As the two boys traded attacks, 37 and Midoriya watched from the protected area near the school's gate. 37 was trying to calm herself enough to speak openly. She couldn't stand seeing those two fighting each other. "Midoriya, you have to listen! That boy isn't a bad person! He's the one that I've wanted to find, the one that I've been worried about since I first woke up here! You have to stop this, please!"

"So he didn't have anything to do with what happened to you? He's just the guy that you were trying to help back then?" asked Midoriya.

"Yes! Please, I know it looks bad, but he's only fighting like this because he thinks I'm in danger. I know he wouldn't act like this otherwise," 37 said as she held Midoriya's hand between her gloved ones. "Please stop them! I can't stand to watch them hurt each other anymore!"

"Okay. You stay here where it's safe, I'll do my best!" said Midoriya as he rushed towards the other two boys.

Accelerator was setting up another volley of projectiles, while Todoroki was amassing an enormous amount of ice. The frostbite had already begun to collect against the exposed skin on his face, and his hands shook from the cold. Midoriya stopped next to him and placed his pointer finger into a flicking position against his thumb. "Midoriya, what do you think you... you're doing?" asked Todoroki, weary from the pain in his side.

"You both have to stop, this guy isn't our enemy! He's not the one that hurt 37!" Midoriya answered as he saw the projectiles start moving towards them. He braced himself as best he could and flicked his finger towards the approaching weapons. The force of the wind that came off of his attack stopped the rods and threw them out of everyone's way. Accelerator could only stand there and watch as his offense was deflected so easily.

"What the hell?! How did he stop my attack?" said Accelerator. Midoriya's face seemed pained as he held his hand against his chest and walked closer to him.

"37 just told me who you are; I apologize for all of this. We were wrong to assume you were a danger to her. She asked me to stop you from fighting, so if she is someone important to you, please do as she asks," said Midoriya as he bowed to show his sincerity.

"She asked us to stop? Well, if you guys know that I'm not the bad guy here, for once, then I've got no problem calling it a day. But I want to talk to her, now."

"Sure... sure thing. Uhm, I didn't catch your name though, I'm Midoriya Izuku, and he's Todoroki Shoto. We're all students at UA High over here," he said as he gestured back towards the main school building.

Accelerator just looked at the kid with the messy green hair, "The name's Accelerator. What is that ability of yours? Some type of air disruption or something?"

"Uh, something like that I guess. Here, let me go get 37 for you!" said Midoriya awkwardly as he ran off to the school gate.

Todoroki stared at Accelerator as Midoriya escorted 37 back to the group. He wasn't sure just what to make of the albino guy that had so effortlessly deflected some of his strongest attacks. If he wasn't an enemy, just who was he?

37 approached Accelerator slowly, unsure of just where to begin or if she should even begin at all. She stood in front of him and finally met his eyes. She gave a weak smile as she spoke, "Uhm, hello Seij- I mean, Accelerator. It's been a while, you've certainly grown since I last saw you."

Before he could reply to her, several students turned around the corner of the grounds and headed in their direction.

"What the hell's going on over here?! We could hear the noise from the back of the school, even the ground trembled!" said Kirishima.

"See, I told you I wasn't trespassing! That guy over there and I came here to find that girl with the purple hair!" said Touma, who had been caught wandering the perimeter of the campus by several students. As the two groups gathered, they were treated to a very stylish and heroic entrance by All Might.

"Hello, children. I see there's been some disturbance here," he spotted the two strangers and guessing why they were here, continued. "Well, looks like we have a couple of guests from out of town. Why don't we move whatever conversation you all were having to a safer location. How about you two join us in the school? It seems we have a lot to discuss."


	21. Chapter 21

"Now then, I assume you two are from Academy City, correct?" asked All Might as they gathered in one of the conference rooms in the UA High building.

Touma answered, "Yes sir. We came here to look for 37; we hadn't known until recently that she had been abducted years ago. I take responsibility for that. I should have been more aware of whose care I was leaving her in. So you see, I felt obligated to help find her. Accelerator knew her as well, although I don't know the details of their relationship."

"They don't need to know our life story. She was presumed dead after an accident at our former Institute five years ago. Apparently, this guy found her and took her to the hospital and handed her off to some shady guy in a lab coat. Yesterday I found out that she was possibly alive, so here we are."

All Might nodded, "I see. So you're here to accompany her back to Academy City? I'm not sure if she's made you aware of it, but she doesn't have an Esper ability. She has a Quirk. We also have a theory on how she ended up here. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Magic side, but they've had a long history of clashing with your Science side and Academy City. We believe that someone on the Magic side wanted to develop 37's power to be used against Science. They left her in Academy City first, and when they didn't get the results they wanted, they took her and left her here for us to find. Now we have no plans of getting ourselves involved in the quarrels between Science and Magic, but we're not going to ignore the fact that 37 needs protection and training to control her Quirk. She's old enough to make her own decisions, however, and we can only recommend that she stay here. If she decides to leave, we'll respect that decision."

37 just sat quietly while listening to everyone speak. She was still surprised that Accelerator had come all this way to find her. She didn't expect that from him considering the way things were left between them. Once they were done here, she'd make sure to apologize to him.

"Well, now that we've all shared our motives for being here, I think we can safely say that we're all allies in this situation," said All Might. "You boys must be tired from your trip. We're happy to provide you with a place to rest here. If you'd like to have a look around, please feel free. I'm sure our students would be happy to take you around to our most popular sites. If you'll excuse me, I have a conference that I must attend. It was good meeting you two; please feel welcome here!" All Might stood up and left the room, flashing a huge grin that unnerved Touma a little bit. Accelerator was unaffected as he watched 37 from across the table.

Touma was the first to speak, directing his attention to Todoroki. "Hey, maybe we should step outside, give them a chance to speak privately for a bit." Todoroki didn't like the idea of leaving 37 alone with him, but reluctantly stood up and left the room. Midoriya followed with Touma stepping out last and closing the door.

"I'm sorry," 37 said as she finally met Accelerator's crimson eyes. "The way I left things, not taking your hand when you were trying to save me... I feel like I've wronged you with my actions. For all of that, as well as you not knowing where I was all this time, I'm truly sorry."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for, 37. You got caught up in the feud I had with Kihara, and for that, I'm the only one to blame. Your last words to me, they ran through my head pretty often back then. You refused to break me... I eventually found out the reason why you said that. Back then, I didn't understand what you meant. Your belief about those who break and those who fix, it seemed flawed to me at that time. But now, I've grown to understand the meaning behind it, possibly too late considering the things I've done, but I get it now."

37 smiled slightly, "It sounds like you've had a hard life. I can't help but think that I made it harder than it had to be. I never wanted to leave you, and now..." Tears welled up in her eyes, slowly falling down her cheeks.

"Stop that, there's no need to cry here," said Accelerator. He tapped his knuckle against the conference table in front of him and forced it to the other end of the room. He stood up from his chair and walked across the newly opened space between the two of them and took her gloved hand into his. "You had no control over what happened in my life since you left. Don't take blame that isn't yours. There were lessons that I needed to learn on my own. Some of them were harsher than others, but the decisions were mine to make."

She smiled and wiped away her tears with her free hand, the fabric of her glove slightly damp now. "You've grown up so much. I'm sorry I had to miss so much of it." She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, her forehead resting against his navel.

Accelerator was surprised by her sudden embrace but found it comforting. He replied back to her, "It's okay, you won't be missing anything now."

...

Todoroki and Touma were leaning against the wall just outside of the room. Midoriya had excused himself just after they walked out. Todoroki had his arms crossed, deep in thought and waiting for 37 to come out.

"I have a question for you, and I hope you'll answer truthfully. You must have seen the wounds on 37 as you were bringing her to the hospital all those years ago. Do you think it's true that he wasn't the one to harm her?"

Touma had to think about it for a moment. "Well, to be honest, I'm not familiar with who 37 is or how they know each other. He mentioned the Institute, so they must have met there. I do know him though, and I should say that we are not friends. In fact, we had a pretty severe fight just days ago. He can be a very sadistic individual, judging from what I've seen him do and the rumors I've heard about his past. But the way he reacted when he found out she was still alive... He genuinely wanted to find her safe and unharmed. So no, I don't believe he was the one to hurt her."

"I see. Thank you for your honesty," said Todoroki. He felt a little less on edge about her being alone in there with him. It did make him wish that she felt comfortable enough with him to share more of her past. He wondered if she had feelings for this Accelerator guy and if his sudden appearance had made the time they had spent together mean nothing. It's true that he hadn't confessed his feelings to her yet, but as close as they had gotten, she had to have noticed there was something between them, right?

...

37 let go of Accelerator and stood up next to him. "I suppose we should get going. I'm sure you guys must be hungry."

"Just a little. Oh, I don't think you know, but... I gave you a name before I left that night."

"A name?"

Accelerator nodded. "Sumire Yuuki. It isn't very original, but at the time I was more than a little overwhelmed and felt it was wrong for you just to be identified as a number. So I sat down and came up with 'Violet Courage' as your name. You don't have to use it. I'm sure you could come up with something better."

"No, I like that. Thank you for being so thoughtful." They opened the door to find Todoroki and Touma standing against the opposite wall. "You're the one that found me and took me to the hospital after the accident, right?" she said to Touma.

"Yes, that's true. I'm Kamijou Touma. I'm sorry that you ended up getting taken away by that fake doctor. I felt something was unusual but didn't act on it." He bowed to her to show he was genuinely sorry.

"That's not necessary, and I appreciate that you were able to find me at all! It must have taken a lot of courage to save me like that; I'm very grateful. I'm just curious, how is it that you weren't affected by my ability? Surely you must have come in contact with some part of my skin while you were carrying me to safety."

"Well, let's just say I have a natural resistance to that sort of thing," he said as he looked at his right hand. "But thank you for your kind words, I'm just glad that things have managed to turn out alright in the end."

Todoroki took the opportunity to approach Accelerator. "I want to apologize for earlier. It was unfair of me to accuse you of bringing harm to 37 without first learning who you were. I'm sorry," he said as he offered his hand out to Accelerator. He stared at the outstretched hand for a moment, then met it with his own.

"Sure. I suppose it was unfair of me to assume you guys were the bastards that kidnapped her as well."

Todoroki nodded as they shook and let go. "We should get going, did you want to get some dinner with us? We were originally heading to the store, but we can find something a little better to eat."

"That sounds great, we'd be good with whatever you want to get," said Touma, who was starting to feel hungry now.

"We should let Sumire choose the place," replied Accelerator. Todoroki and Touma both looked at him, confused.

"Who's Sumire?" asked Todoroki.

"That's me, Todoroki. After I was lost, Accelerator picked out a name for me, because he didn't want me just to be known as a number. My name is Sumire Yuuki now. Isn't it a lovely name?" she replied with a smile.

"Yes, yes of course it is. Sorry if I offended you," answered Todoroki, bowing slightly.

"It's okay; you couldn't have known. I just found it out myself. I guess we should get some dinner now. There's a place that Uraraka showed me earlier this week that I'm sure everyone will enjoy." They began walking together to their destination, leaving the school behind. Todoroki walked a few paces behind everyone, lost in his thoughts once again.

 _How can I compare to him now? I may have given her comfort, but he gave her a name._


	22. Chapter 22

**August 27th, 2011**

The following day, Touma and Accelerator met up with Sumire and Todoroki to explore more of the city. Uraraka and Midoriya joined up with them, and the group left together to show the two Espers around the city.

"There's a lot less criminal activity in town because registered heroes routinely patrol the streets. This deters most villains, but there are still some that dare to commit crimes," said Midoriya.

"I bet you're loving this, Deku! Getting a chance to spill all the data you've been taking in all these years to people that aren't familiar with our city. It's like we have our very own tour guide!" Uraraka cheerfully said as she walked with Sumire.

"W-well, geez I'm not trying to come off as annoying or anything... There's just so much to the city that is worth sharing! The main attraction for Musutafu is UA High of course. There have been so many pro heroes that have come from UA; it's the top school for anyone interested in being a hero!"

Accelerator yawned, "Yeah... not interested in your school's stats, kid. I'm more interested in how these Quirks of yours manifest in the first place. You can't think I'll believe that they just magically show up out of nowhere." He didn't like that while he had to go through so much to acquire his strength, others manage to gain power just by merely existing.

"There's no magic to it, it's just the natural evolutionary course that humanity has taken. I've heard a little about how your Esper powers come into being. Experiments, drugs, and such. It just seems so artificial to me. Surely there are those among your population that have developed Esper powers or even Quirks on their own," replied Todoroki, his mood and tone very flat.

"I suppose it's possible, but I imagine if they did, they'd just disguise it as an Esper ability so that they wouldn't stand out. With all the testing, it would probably be hard for someone with a Quirk to stay hidden for long," answered Touma.

Sumire shook her head, "I had a Quirk, and no one at the SAI ever mentioned it. And as far as I'm aware they never did any testing to identify my ability's source as they did here at UA."

"Well, I guess there could be some that slip through unseen. Sorry if I offended you by saying any of that, Sumire," said Touma as he apologetically raised his hands.

"No offense taken, just figured I'd point out that it's a possibility. Anything is possible nowadays it seems," Sumire said as the group came to a stop at the entrance to the USJ.

Midoriya continued speaking, "This is one of our other training facilities that focuses on rescue training and natural disasters, the USJ."

"It's pretty impressive, I'm guessing we can't go inside though, it looks like repairs are going on," said Touma as he noted the current state of the building.

"Yeah, we had a run-in with some villains earlier in the year. They managed to get past the school's barrier and tried to kill All Might. The villains had gathered into a group and called themselves the League of Villians. It was tough, but our class managed to hold their own against them until the teachers arrived," said Midoriya.

"You weren't involved with that were you Sumire?" asked Accelerator.

"No, that happened right before I was found. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, just didn't want to hear that you had gotten away from one dangerous situation and landed in another, that's all."

Todoroki glared at Accelerator with that statement. "She's been taken care of and kept out of danger just fine since we found her. Which, from the sound of it, is far more than you can say. 37 is happy here, free of the stress and pain that you and your city caused!"

"Don't use that damn number; SHE HAS A NAME NOW! You like to think of yourself as the hero that saved her from such a horrible fate, don't you?! You weren't there in that shithole with us, so you can't even begin to fathom the circumstances of our past. Of course this place looks great in comparison, but that doesn't make you any better than me!"

"Accelerator, that's enough!" said Sumire as she tried to stand between the two young men. "I don't know what's gotten into you two, but arguing isn't going to change anything about the past or the present. We're all on the same side here, so can we please try to act like it?"

"I think the fact that it took you five years to find out she was still alive should be enough to show how pathetic a friend you are to her. Instead of trying to find her after she fell you just ran away, right?! It didn't even cross your mind that you should at least check to see if she was really gone?"

"STOP IT!" yelled Sumire, her voice trembling as tears started falling across her cheeks.

"You want to throw that in my face, asshole? Well, why don't you step up again and see how pathetic I can get. Just keep in mind, that if I had been a true villain out to get her yesterday, you would have failed to save her and you know it."

"That's it; I'm done with this! I'm not going to watch you two fight again!" sobbed Sumire as she ran back towards UA High's main building.

"Sumire, wait!" yelled Todoroki as he turned away from Accelerator and watched her leave.

"You guys really should have dropped this, especially when she first asked you two to stop. She doesn't need two important people in her life at odds with each other right now," said Uraraka with a heavy sigh. "We should go after her. If you two can't manage to chill out and put an end to this bickering, then don't bother coming with us! Come on, Deku." As they left, Touma decided to go along with them as well. He wasn't exactly going to put himself in Accelerator's corner anyway.

"This is so stupid; you were the one that provoked me in the first place. Why should I apologize for defending myself?" growled Accelerator.

"I have nothing else to say to you, but for Sumire's sake, I'm willing to let this go and move on. Whether you do or not is your decision, but I'm going back now," said Todoroki as he stepped away from Accelerator and followed the others going back to the school.

"Oh, so now you can remember her name. Tch, whatever. I'll be glad when we leave this damn city," said Accelerator as he started walking back as well.

The group had almost reformed by the time they caught up with Sumire. She had just walked out of the entrance gate, her head down towards the ground, her hands near her face to catch any stray tears as they fell. Why couldn't they stop arguing? It hurt her to watch them fight the day before, and to see them starting again was too much. They both meant so much to her, and she didn't want to see them like this.

"Sumire, wait up!" yelled Uraraka as the group got closer. She stopped walking, turned to face them, and watched as they approached. She wasn't sure just what she was going to say to them once they got to her, but hopefully, their argument had come to an end.

A faint mist began to swirl behind Sumire, growing into a deeper shade of black edged with a purple tint. Suddenly from within the blackness, arms appeared and wrapped themselves around Sumire.

"NO!" yelled Todoroki as he and the others watched as Sumire was pulled backward, disappearing into the darkness that had surrounded her.

Accelerator couldn't believe his eyes, "SUMIRE!" he shouted out as he activated his Esper ability and flung himself forward towards the black mist that had taken her. The mist disappeared as he reached where she had just been standing. "What the hell! Where did she go?!"

"That mist... Oh no, it's them again!" cried Uraraka as she looked at Deku.

Accelerator stormed back towards the group and grabbed Todoroki's shirt and yanked him towards him until they were face to face again. "Where did she go, damn it! Is this another one of your fucking Quirks?!"

"Let go of him!" yelled Midoriya. "We've all seen that mist before. It's one of the villains that attacked the USJ. He can create portals using the black mist that makes up his body. We need to get back inside and let the teachers know!"

"Argh..." growled Accelerator as he let go of Todoroki and followed the rest of the group back to the school to inform the teachers of what happened.

...

Within the dimly lit bar, the black mist appeared once again, this time with Sumire and the man that had grabbed her walking out from it. She struggled against his grip, but he held her in a bear hug, compressing her arms against her torso and making it difficult for her to take a full breath. Finally, as her energy faded, he dropped her against the wall and stepped away.

"It took you long enough, Arthur. Who knew it would be so difficult for you to catch a woman," laughed Dion Fortune as Arthur Waite glared at her.

"We had to wait until she had walked out of the school, that barrier they have has gotten stronger after the USJ incident," explained Kurogiri, the source of the mist and portal.

"At least we managed to secure her once again. That was our main goal here after all. This alliance has truly proven beneficial, to both sides I presume, Shigaraki?" asked Robert Felkin, the leader of the group of Magicians currently occupying the League of Villians hideout. The man that he was addressing, Shigaraki Tomura, stepped forward and nodded. The grotesque disembodied hand obscuring the view of the man's face frightened Sumire more than being kidnapped had.

"Why... why am I here?" she managed to ask.

"My dear, you are here because we have come to claim our weapon! You are going to be the one that brings down Academy City and that heathen Aleister. I'm sure that school you've been hiding out in has been teaching you how to control your power better. We've waited quite a long time, but the time to strike that city has finally come!" exclaimed Robert.

Shigaraki stood in front of Sumire and crouched down until his face was in front of hers. She saw one scarred eye peeking out from between the fingers gripping his face. Scared, she covered her face with her hands and pulled her legs up against her body.

"I'm curious Mr. Felkin, just what Quirk does she possess that makes her such an important part of your plans? She doesn't seem especially strong to me," commented Shigaraki as he looked down at Sumire.

"Her Quirk allows her to steal another's power and use it as her own. It doesn't matter if they're an Esper, Magician, or another Quirk user, although it seems she gets injured if she steals from Espers. Doesn't matter though, if she's learned to control it, even that side effect won't stop her," said Robert in a prideful tone.

"You don't say..." Shigaraki stared at the girl for a while longer. An ability stealing Quirk, was it? He knew someone else with such a talent, someone he respected quite highly. He began to wonder if there could be some connection between the two.

"Yes, well now that we have provided you with the support you needed for your League of Villians, and you completed your part of the deal, it's time that we went back to Academy City. It was very... interesting working with you lot." Robert offered his hand out to Shigaraki to conclude their business. Shigaraki stared at his hand, and then back towards Sumire. Although unseen, a twisted smile developed on his face as he reached out to meet the Magician's hand.

"Yes, yes. This was quite an interesting revelation," said Shigaraki. He gripped the man's hand tightly and set off his Quirk. The man known as Robert Felkin quickly began to disintegrate. As much as he screamed and writhed, Shigaraki held tight to the man's hand, even motioning it up and down as though still in the middle of a handshake. He laughed wildly as the man screamed. Sumire dared to uncover her face and saw the man deteriorating in front of her. The two that accompanied him had stepped back and were beginning to each chant words in a language she didn't understand.

"Kurogiri, please see our guests out, they've overstayed their welcome," said Shigaraki as the last pieces of Robert crumbled to dust. Portals swallowed up Dion and Arthur, sending each of them to some unknown location.

Shigaraki looked around the room and took a deep breath. "Ahh! That's better, entertaining so many guests just gets to be tiring after a while." He stepped back over to Sumire and bent down in front of her again, carefully pulling her arm away from her face and forcing her to look at him. "I think it's time we got to know more about you, Sumire Yuuki. Much more."


	23. Chapter 23

"I... I don't have anything to say to you, you evil bastard..." said Sumire as she tried to avoid looking at the man that was staring her down through his hideous mask.

"Now that's not a very heroic thing to say to someone that just saved you from your original kidnappers. Their connections ran pretty deep, I must say. The League of Villains is in a much better position now for having taken advantage of their deal. Were you aware that their group was responsible for the deaths of your parents? To think that they'd be so careless to blabber on about their entire history with you as if we needed to know it! Oh, I take it by that expression on your face you weren't aware of just how your parents met their end? That's too bad, but that just goes to show you how flawed this 'hero' system truly is."

Sumire had recently learned that her parents hadn't died in an accident like she had grown up believing but were killed by some group that wanted to take advantage of their Quirks. She hadn't known just who was responsible, at least not until now if this man was telling the truth. "I didn't know it was them, but that doesn't mean I'm grateful for your intervention nor do I owe you anything as a result. My parents died protecting me, heroes in every sense of the word. I don't see the flaws you claim exist. I don't know much about my mother and father, but they didn't waver in their convictions and stood against evil."

"I'm wondering just how much of that is true. You see, I know someone that has a very similar Quirk to yours. Now it's possible that it's just a coincidence that you two happen to have similar abilities. But I think the possibility that you're related to him is at least worth exploring. And if it turns out to be false, then your Quirk could still prove quite useful to our cause."

"I will never have any part of your group. A long time ago, I believed that the world I knew was made up of those who break and those who fix. What I've witnessed today has only reaffirmed my belief in that idea. So no, I'll never help you to break this world apart. I'll fight with everything I have to be the one to fix things." She had calmed down during their conversation, growing accustomed to the look of the man before her. To her surprise, the skinny and pale man started laughing at her.

"Hahahaha! That is an interesting concept; it keeps everything so damn simple! Can't you see, girl? Can't you see that this world HAS to be broken if there's to be any hope for improving it? This society must be broken down to its most basic form to give us all a chance to start anew! There's an imbalance in this world that gives an advantage to those with Quirks that are considered heroic. What about the people with Quirks that set them up to just look like villains based on their nature? By something they were born with and couldn't help? Those people get isolated and shunned to the point where their only option is to become what society already condemned them to be. We're not going to let it happen any longer. I will 'break' this Hero society and then 'fix' it myself. You claim that you'll only fix things, then join us and accomplish that."

Sumire grew angry with him, taking her own belief and twisting it to fit his evil plans. "I've said all I need to say, I'll never join you and I won't be used as part of your plans either!"

She reached for her hands to remove her gloves, her only barrier against activating her Quirk. Before she could completely remove them, however, Shigaraki reached out and touched her first. Searing pain raced up her fingers and into the palm of her hand, radiating through her forearm. Instinctively she drew back her hand from his touch. Through the holes in her glove she saw spots on her fingers and hand where her skin had been stripped away, exposing the tender flesh beneath.

"I suggest you keep those gloves on, dear. I'd hate for you to let such promising power go to waste. Or for you to have to use it with your feet." Shigaraki stepped away from the girl as she braced her injured arm against her chest and stumbled backward against the wall. Horrified by the damage he had inflicted on her with such ease, she sat down against the wall once again, her tears flowing and heart filled with fear. She didn't think other monsters in the world could compare to Kihara, but as she watched the man with the disembodied hand gripping his face laugh at her, she realized that she was wrong.

 **Evening, August 27th, 2011**

All Might looked around the room at the teachers, the students that had witnessed Sumire's abduction, as well as the two Espers from Academy City. Normally strangers wouldn't be involved in this kind of meeting. However, All Might felt that it was necessary to include them since the girl was important to them.

"Now that I see we're all here, we need to discuss what we're going to do about young Sumire's situation. To think that those villains would take one of our own right at the front gates like that... But fear not, we won't rest until she's safely within this school once more!"

Aizawa followed up with his own comment, "It's obvious that the same villain that was responsible for the USJ incident is the one behind her kidnapping. It was Kurogiri's Teleportation Quirk that was used both times. Which doesn't leave us with much to go on as far as where the other side of that gate took them."

"The police have been working closely with the Pro Heroes and teachers since the USJ incident to develop some leads on potential hideouts for this League of Villains." A map of the city was put up on the wall display, with five areas circled. "We should assemble any available bodies and raid them simultaneously to give us the best possible chance of finding her without giving them a chance to warn the others and escape," the police liaison Tsukauchi Naomasa reported to the group.

All Might nodded, "Thank you, sir, I also feel that would be the best course of action."

"We'd like to volunteer for this mission, sir. We all want to do what we can to ensure Sumire is brought back safely. Please give us the opportunity, sir," said Todoroki as he bowed before his teacher and the other adults. Midoriya and Uraraka did as well.

Accelerator stood at the back of the room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossing his chest. His current mood after being unable to get to Sumire in time was hostile at best. "Volunteer? Ask for permission if you kids want, I'm going to find her no matter what they say."

"We're not willing to risk putting other students in danger with this mission. This League of Villains is just too unpredictable to allow for that. Sorry children, but you are forbidden from joining in on this operation, understand? And that includes our two guests from Academy City as well," said All Might.

"What?! But sir, we held our own against the villains during the USJ attack. Each of us here was able to provide support for the teachers during that fight. We're capable of doing so again, sir I know it. Just..." Todoroki's appeal was cut short by Aizawa this time.

"The answer is no, Todoroki. This is not some training drill, this is real life combat, and it's no place for first-years. If you attempt to interfere with this operation in any way, there will be severe penalties. The fact that you were included in this meeting at all was just to be sure you knew the gravity of this situation so you wouldn't do anything stupid. If that point has been made, then you're dismissed."

"No! I refuse to accept that decision! I could..."

Midoriya grabbed hold of Todoroki and stopped him from continuing his argument. "Stop, Todoroki. They've made their decision; we need to leave before we're put in even less of a position to be of help. Come on, let's go." He reached for Todoroki's hand and managed to lead the troubled boy out of the room. Uraraka followed behind them, leaving Touma and Accelerator behind.

Accelerator glared at the two teachers that were leading the meeting. "You can order those small fries around all you want, but if you think you're going to keep me contained, then you clearly don't know who you're dealing with. I have no equal here, and I sure as Hell don't have to answer to any of you assholes!" He took a good look at the map that was still up on the viewscreen before walking towards the door. "Just don't make the mistake of getting between me and whoever took her." Accelerator glanced back once more before leaving. Touma, unsure of just where he should be, decided to follow him out without saying a word to the group.

"That boy is going to be a problem, sir," All Might said to the principal. "I saw him in action the other day against young Todoroki. His power is quite impressive to be sure. But his attitude..."

"Yes, I'm aware that he could cause some issues for us. We'll just have to do what we can to prevent any interference and carry this mission out quickly. Honestly, I'm not sure what we could do to defend against his Esper powers if he turned against us. Avoiding a confrontation is our best course of action concerning Accelerator. His personality flaws aside, at his core, he just wants his friend returned safely."

Outside of the school, Todoroki was sitting down with his head in his hands. Midoriya and Uraraka sat next to him, unsure of what their next step should be.

"I'm still going you guys. I recognized a few of those targets on the map. They can't stop me from doing what I can to bring her back!" said Todoroki as he clenched his fists.

Accelerator and Touma exited the building and approached the group. "So, you just going to sit there or what?" Accelerator asked the three students.

"We... we're not sure just what our best options are, but if the heroes are going to split up between the five locations, they may not have enough at each location to pull off their strike. Remember, the officer reporting the plan said 'any available bodies,' which makes me think that they're already short on manpower," said Midoriya.

"Which makes their decision make even less sense. We can handle ourselves!" Todoroki cried out.

Accelerator shook his head, "If you guys thought you could handle it, you'd already be on your way to the first location. You think a little pep talk is all you'll need to face whatever enemies are out there? You're better off staying on that bench."

Todoroki's anger was rising; his patience was getting dangerously close to its limit. He took several deep breaths and stood up. Before he could step towards Accelerator, Midoriya began muttering to himself like he usually did when he's analyzing a situation.

"We should split up, each of us takes two possible hideouts and then meet up at the fifth one if the other four are a bust. The teachers were right about the unpredictability of the villains. There's no guarantee we know just who is going to be waiting in those places and what Quirks they'll have. We should only do surveillance of each target to identify where Sumire is located. If we can just look into the building and confirm she's not there, we can get away without having to fight and move on to the next one."

Todoroki shook his head, Midoriya's carefully thought out words helped to calm him down. "I agree. So which of us is going where?"

"Well, I think two groups of two would work best. Uraraka, would you mind staying in a central location to relay information between the two teams?" asked Midoriya.

"Sure, you guys had better be careful, okay?"

Accelerator had enough of listening to their plan. Time was growing short on their chances of bringing her back safely. And if anyone dared to harm her in any way, he'd show them no mercy. "I'm taking the two western locations," he said as he started walking away.

Midoriya and Todoroki looked at each other nervously. "I think it'd be best if we split ourselves up Todoroki. That way there's someone that knows the layout of the city on each team."

"I was afraid you were going to say that, Midoriya. Fine, I'll follow him. But I will leave him on his own if necessary," said Todoroki as he sighed and started to follow Accelerator.

"I guess you're with me then, Touma. We'll be in touch Uraraka, let us know if you see or hear from any of the teachers or heroes!" The two boys waved as they set out to their area.

"You've got it Deku! Be careful and bring Sumire back to us safe and sound!" She smiled and waved to them, then started looking around for a decent place to keep an eye on things. A taller vantage point could be useful, so she activated her Gravity Quirk and floated up to a nearby building's roof. She had to pause along the way, fighting nausea that accompanied the use of her ability, but eventually made it to the top.

"And now we watch and wait," Uraraka said as she sighed deeply.


	24. Chapter 24

"The first site was a bust; nothing even looked suspicious. We should get to the next location fast. There's no telling when the Pros will show up." Todoroki was mainly talking for his benefit because he knew Accelerator didn't care enough to continue the conversation. He just kept walking, his hands shoved into his pants pockets.

"You know, you're essentially worthless to me as a partner. I memorized the map locations before you even started whining about not getting to join in on their mission."

Todoroki sneered at him, "Well if that's the case, why aren't you using that power of yours to jet ahead and go then? You weren't my first choice for a teammate either."

Accelerator sighed heavily and shook his head, "Because setting off my Esper ability could be a quick way to get ourselves noticed. And since you punks seem to value stealth right now, I felt it would be better to keep it simple. Although the idea is getting more tempting the longer this conversation lasts."

A vibration from Todoroki's pants pocket alerted him to a phone call. Uraraka was on the other end with the latest news.

"Hey guys, how's your progress so far? Deku and the other Esper cleared the first location and just arrived at the second."

"We're about to do the same, approaching it soon. Nothing was going on in the first place we checked," replied Todoroki.

"Okay, I'll let you know if anything new comes through. Stay safe out there!"

"Yeah, no problem we'll be just fine. Later." Todoroki hung up the phone and relayed her information to Accelerator. "We may end up converging on the fifth location if we don't find anything here either."

Accelerator kicked the ground angrily, "It doesn't matter which building it is; I'll be the one to save her. You 'Quirk' users just step out of my way and let me do what I do best."

"And what is that exactly? Destroy everything around you? From enemies to friendships and everything in between?" They recognized the building they were looking for and crouched behind the low stone wall that surrounded it. Accelerator followed and took a spot to the right of Todoroki, leaning against the wall for support.

"Friendships for me are few and far between. Sumire is one of the few people I can call a friend and feel like I'm telling the truth."

Todoroki had expected another rage-filled monologue from the Esper. His response caught him off guard. He still didn't know much about how the two of them ended up friends and dared to put his thoughts into words. "So... about Sumire. She's told me some details about her past, but when it comes to that Institute place, she's hesitant to tell me anything. That's where the two of you met, right?"

"Yeah. I'm sure she's at least told you that place was a shithole that destroyed children like us that were abandoned or orphaned. All in the name of 'Science.'"

"Well, that's the idea I got from it, but she's never wanted to talk about it. Just like her scars. I never tried to push her to talk about it, but she'd just change the subject or say that they were her fault. Which is why I believed you were the one that gave them to her at first, considering her reaction to seeing you for the first time in years."

Accelerator thought back to accidentally seeing Sumire in the bath years ago, the first time he'd personally seen what her ability did to her. The slash across her back that developed after she used her power to stop him from leaving the safehouse ran through his mind next, and he cringed at the memory of her lying there helpless and wounded.

"It's her ability that does it. Whenever she came into direct contact with an Esper, she'd take their ability, but it would also physically wound her. The degree of severity increased the higher the Esper's level was. The number she was given, 37, was out of a group of 47 students that were there when the SAI first opened. By the end, she was the only one left out of that group. They systematically forced her to come into contact with the other students in their experiments, knowing it would hurt her. At the time she only believed she was copying their abilities, but she later found out their power was completely taken from them, and no one ever saw them return."

Todoroki was in shock, horrified at the conditions she had been put through as a child. "That's... that's just so horrible. But it's obvious that it was the fault of those bastard scientists, why would she say it was her fault?"

"We went back to the SAI to find her records so that Anti-Skill could form a stronger case against the Institute and close them down. We found them, but the contents only hurt her more. It turns out that once it was discovered that she was taking abilities rather than copying them, the Institute began 'disposing' of the students that lost their powers. She blamed herself for their deaths. Each scar is a life that she believes ended because of her. We tried to convince her that wasn't true, but learning that information wounded her more profoundly than any of the marks on her body ever could." Accelerator could only stare off now, his memory bringing back the last images he had seen of her, falling from the roof of the SAI building.

His eyes glassy and wet, Todoroki slid his thumbs across to rid them of the tears that had formed. The Esper had been right; he had no idea at all what they had been through at that place. Learning all of this just made him want to find her and pull her close to him. He wanted to shield her from all the bad in the world, to fix what had already been broken. His voice wavered as he asked one final question. "The accident?"

"How did I know you'd ask about that next... The head scientist and I had a feud, and unfortunately, she was used as a pawn to force our final confrontation. She..." Accelerator felt his throat seize up, emotions that he usually disregarded were running unchecked now. "She stopped him from killing me by directly slapping him in the face. She stole his abilities from him. Just when he was about to lose, he set off the explosives he had planted earlier. Sumire had a violent reaction, she'd never come into contact with a Level 5 before, and... and the building was falling apart from under us. She almost got thrown off the roof but I grabbed her by her gloved hand. When I tried to reach for her other hand, she refused and said she didn't want to... to break me. Then, I lost her." Accelerator cleared his throat and deeply sighed. "Does that answer all your questions now?"

Todoroki only nodded, making sure his own voice was under control again before answering. "I'm sorry for everything I've said and done since you came here. I was so wrong to judge you as the one that hurt her. I'm very sorry for that and all that you've had to live through."

The other boy just shrugged it off, "After I lost her and went out on my own, I did a lot of bad things. I admit that I'm not a good person. I'm one of the worst pieces of shit you'll ever meet. But after seeing her again after so long, after all the horrible stuff I've done... It's almost like there's a part of me now that can hope to put all that behind me. She makes me feel like there could be a positive future for a bastard like me."

"I get what you mean. She has the kind of positive outlook on things that make you feel that no matter how bad things have been, the potential for something good is always just ahead." Todoroki smiled as he remembered walking with her around the school and the talks they had shared. Accelerator noticed the expression on his face and looked puzzled.

"What are your intentions with her?"

Todoroki snapped out of his daydream and looked at the Esper. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"That look on your face, what you've been saying about her. The fact that you're so _goddamn_ defensive over her... What are your intentions, do you like her or something?" Accelerator stared at him and waited for an answer.

He never thought that the guy would be so direct about it, so the question caught him off guard. Should he say how he honestly felt? What if that just made them enemies and rivals once again? But with their tragic past, it seemed doubtful that he could believe he still stood a chance with her now.

"I do care about her, a lot. But I think that we should leave the question of who has Sumire's heart up to her to decide herself."

"For once, I think I can agree with you. Are you ready to check this building now?"

Todoroki nodded, and the two picked themselves up and carefully made their way towards the side of the building. Judging from their view through the windows, nothing seemed out of place. Just a typical storage warehouse that was closed for the evening. Todoroki pulled out his phone once they had gotten back a safe distance and called Uraraka to report their findings. She confirmed that Deku and Touma were still at their second location, but would meet them at the last one soon. He hung up the phone and relayed the news to Accelerator.

"Alright, if we get there first and there's any trouble with Midoriya we can rush over there if necessary. Ready to go?" He offered a hand to the Esper that was crouched down on the ground.

"Yeah, let's go get her back," Accelerator said as he took the young Quirk user's hand and got to his feet.

The final site wasn't in an isolated location like the others. This one wasn't in a busy part of town, but there was still nearby traffic and the occasional pedestrian. The windows were positioned higher up than the others as well, which would make surveilling the scene slightly more difficult. The two teammates carefully assessed the area and then decided to approach from the side.

Todoroki walked ahead of Accelerator, approaching the building more swiftly. A noise behind him drew Accelerator's attention away for only a moment, but the distraction was enough to allow one of the gates that had been used to abduct Sumire to open up on the ground beneath Todoroki and swallow him up right before his eyes once again.

Accelerator yelled out in disbelief, "No! Come back here and take me you dumb bastards!"

Fortunately, the source of the gate that had stolen Todoroki was just inside of the building they were approaching. Todoroki landed on the floor of the bar room, disoriented that he had started out walking upright only to be dropped suddenly. He quickly got his bearings and stood back up, noticing the familiar appearance of Kurogiri behind the bar.

"So it was you guys that kidnapped Sumire. What could you possibly want with her, she's no villain. Not even close."

Another familiar person appeared before him, his face shrouded by that disgusting hand-shaped mask like the last time they had faced each other. He sat next to Sumire, his left arm wrapped around her neck with four of his five fingers placed against her throat.

"Welcome to the party, little hero-in-training! I remember you from the attack on the USJ, yes. You took out a large group of villains, so I know you're no slouch when it comes to combat. But before you decide to act rashly, you should realize that only one finger stands in the way of you ever getting to see this girl in one piece. Now if you think you can clear the space between us before my last finger makes contact, then consider me defeated. It's your gamble, hero."


	25. Chapter 25

"Hmm... There's nothing at this location either. I wonder if that means the others found them? No, if that were the case we would have heard something from Uraraka. I guess this means we should get over to the last site and meet up with them there," Midoriya said.

Touma nodded in agreement as he followed his partner towards the next area. He was glad that he got paired with the little green-haired kid rather than the super serious ice guy. He wasn't sure if that guy would be able to team up with Accelerator but figured he'd have a better chance than this kid would. Midoriya seemed like a good person, but maybe not so strong in the confidence department. Accelerator would have walked all over the poor guy had he ended up working with him. He was sure Todoroki wouldn't let that kind of stuff slide.

"So Kamijou... I was just curious, what kind of things happen in your city? I heard about the fight you had with that Accelerator guy. Does that kind of thing often happen where you live?"

"Well, to be honest when it comes to bad luck and misfortune I seem to have an impressive ability to attract it to me. I've had my fair share of trouble in the city. But I'm sure you could find that kind of trouble anywhere, even here. I also... Well, it will probably sound awful considering that the people who kidnapped Sumire were part of the Magic side. But, recently I've gotten to know some Magicians. There's one that I'm also protecting, in a way, but she wouldn't ever consider hurting anyone on either side. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that not all Magic users are like the ones that hurt Sumire."

Midoriya agreed, "I see your point, it's not good to judge an entire group based on the actions of a few. Like I said before, crime has dropped due to the Pro-Heroes, but it's not entirely peaceful. We manage to find ourselves in trouble too. So I guess high school life is pretty interesting wherever you happen to be." Both boys laughed and continued to their meeting place. Their steps were light and quick, but Midoriya caught a new sound in his ear and quickly became suspicious. _Were we found out by the villains? It sounds like someone's following us but they aren't attacking... If they had the advantage here, they should have made their move by now._

He glanced at Touma and rolled his eyes behind them. The nod Touma returned confirmed he had noticed them as well. "So, Midoriya, what time should we be getting back to the school? Getting kinda hungry and tired here," said Touma as he raised his arms up over his head and did some exaggerated stretches. He used the opportunity to get a better look behind them, but nothing seemed out of place. Midoriya had stopped walking and watched him, also surveying the area.

"It's a little late for a stroll, don't you think boys?" said a voice directly behind them. The two boys cried out in surprise and spun around to find Midoriya's homeroom teacher Mr. Aizawa and several other teachers watching them.

"M-Mister Aizawa! Funny meeting you out here? S-So how's the plan going? Not that we were paying attention or anything, we're obviously... not... involved in any way..."

"Can it Midoriya, we've been tracking you since you left the last location," Aizawa said as he rolled his eyes, annoyance showing on his face. "You were told not to get involved in this, yet here you are. And let me guess, Todoroki and that other Esper are out there somewhere too, aren't they? I swear you children seem to crave punishment."

Just then, Midoriya's phone started to vibrate. "Oh, it's Uraraka, I should probably take this, sir," he said as he put the phone to his ear. "Hey, any news? Yeah, well we just met up with our teachers. They didn't find anything either? Oh, okay. Bye."

"Something you'd like to share, Midoriya?" asked his teacher.

"We were only looking at the places you were going to be searching. We figured that narrowing down the locations would get help to Sumire faster. We checked the four furthest locations and didn't find anything suspicious. We planned to meet at the fifth one and then report back if we found anything. We didn't intend to interfere or fight, just help with surveillance."

Aizawa sighed heavily, "Well, I think we can trust you kids enough to be able to tell when something's not right, so we'll focus on that last location with our full force. You may want to call back your buddies now. After this is over, we've got some talking to do regarding how to handle this act of disobedience."

"Y-yes sir!" said Midoriya as he tried to dial Todoroki's number. It rang until it went to voicemail, so Midoriya disconnected the call. _He must be trying to stay quiet or something. Hopefully, that's the only reason he's not answering._

...

Accelerator was fuming as he watched the gate swallow up Todoroki right in front of him. He looked around frantically and caught a flash of light from within the building in front of him.

 _So all they did was drop him inside, huh? It looks like we're in the right place._ He rushed to the front doors and used his Reflection against them, blasting them right off of their hinges.

He got a good look of the room, noting who was positioned where. It looked to be just the misty guy in the corner behind the bar. He looked straight to the back and saw Todoroki standing to the left. And just beyond him was Sumire being held in place by some strange man with what looked like a severed hand palming his face.

"Sumire! Get out of the way; I'm taking this bastard out!" He charged forward, but just as he was about to reach the man holding Sumire captive, Todoroki shot his right arm out in front of Accelerator and halted his movement.

"What the hell do you think you're doing just standing there?!" he yelled to Todoroki.

"We can't touch him, Accelerator. That man is Shigaraki Tomura. His Quirk can disintegrate anything he touches. But he has to use all of his fingers to do so. Look at him, his hand around Sumire's neck. He's keeping one finger up to avoid setting off his Quirk. He's got us in a standoff right now. There's no way either of us could make it in time to keep him from making contact with that last finger and breaking her down in front of us."

Accelerator let out an aggravated sigh and stood down. "So what are we going to do? He can't hold her like that forever!"

The man holding Sumire hostage finally spoke. "I'm not familiar with who you are, but you're certainly right. This is a very uncomfortable position I've been put in here. We were aware that the heroes were planning to search for her. The surprise for me was not expecting you brats to show up first. But I have no intention of harming this girl unnecessarily. I intend to bring her into our Alliance, either whole," he paused to glance down at her hands, "or missing a few limbs."

The two boys looked in the direction Shigaraki had pointed out and noticed Sumire bracing her hand against her chest. They could see blood seeping through some of the parts of the glove and uniform she was wearing.

"You are dead you son of a bitch! You'll pay for every ounce of pain you've given her! You act like you're some leader, but all I see is a coward hiding behind someone much stronger than you will ever be!"

"As I said, I'd like to prevent harming her any further. What's bothering me is I had just managed to rid this room of unwanted guests, just to have more of them appear. This is becoming more troublesome than it is worth. Kurogiri, make us an exit. I suggest you two stay where you are, or you'll be seeing much less of your friend here. Perhaps I'll finish the work I did on her hand. I'm sure her Quirk can work just as well with only one arm."

Kurogiri stepped away from the bar and shifted the mist around him towards the rear of the building. A portal swirled into view with a quick rush of wind. For a moment Shigaraki's attention was diverted towards their new exit. Accelerator looked to Todoroki for a sign to make a move. The young man answered with a nod.

Accelerator tapped his knuckles against one of the bar tables next to him and sent it flying towards the portal, followed by several of the bar stools. Taking advantage of his distraction, Todoroki's right side erupted with an icy flash. He sent a frozen spear towards Shigaraki, aiming with precision. The ice struck the hand against Sumire's throat and surrounded the fingers, freezing them in place.

"Keep sending shit flying at them!" yelled Todoroki as he rushed towards Sumire to pull her away from Shigaraki's grasp.

Accelerator nodded as he directed the next row of chairs and tables towards the portal's entrance. "Just get her out of there!"

Todoroki pulled Sumire away from her captor. Icy fragments clung to her neck as she rushed away from him.

"I don't think so!" Shigaraki said as he tried to swipe his unfrozen hand towards the two. Accelerator's power grew so intense the floor beneath them trembled. The villain lost his footing as he reached out, stumbling against the two students. His free hand made contact first with the left side of Sumire's face, splintering her skin as his fingers raked across her.

Hearing Sumire cry out, Todoroki pulled her away from the evil man's reach, positioning himself between the two. Pain radiated from his shoulder and down his left arm as Shigaraki's fingers clawed against him as the man fell to the floor. The contact was brief, but the damage was significant.

"Get to the front doors!" said Accelerator as he continued his barrage of attacks, flinging any vector he could contact in the villain's directions. He slowly started to back away after Todoroki and Sumire passed by him, covering them as they all made their way towards the doors he had previously destroyed.

"I won't make it that easy for you," said Kurogiri as he used the bar as a shield and sent his mist towards the front entrance, blocking their exit.

"See if your ability can get rid of it, Accelerator," Todoroki said frantically. He tried to hold his injured arm against himself to lessen the pain, but it didn't help much at all. Sumire was next to him, her face, fortunately, wasn't as damaged as his arm. _She must have been in contact with Shigaraki for less time than me. At least I managed to protect her from worse pain._

Accelerator grinned sadistically as he sent his hardest hitting attacks towards the thing blocking their way out. "Just stay out of my way, I'll tear these fuckers apart!" He noticed Todoroki leading Sumire back to the side wall, away from the danger. "Now we can start to have some fun!" he said as he let loose another barrage of debris towards the mist and its source behind the bar.

Unfortunately, none of the objects Accelerator sent towards the mist did any damage. They only went flying through it, landing in the yard beyond the entrance. "This doesn't make any sense, that mist is made up of matter. And matter can be manipulated. What the hell kind of power is that?" He wasn't sure whether to continue his attack though, so he settled for backing up and standing in front of Sumire and Todoroki. "I'm drawing the line here you shitty excuses for villains!"

Suddenly the ground felt like it was giving way underneath Accelerator's feet. He looked down to see one of the gates had formed beneath him. He had already fallen through before he had time to react, disappearing and leaving the wounded Todoroki and Sumire unguarded.

Shigaraki slowly approached the two, the hand that was against his face earlier was missing. Now uncovered, his face twisted in a frightening display of anger and hate. He spotted the missing hand on the floor nearby, leaned over and retrieved it. Rather than replacing it on his face, he opted to slide it into his coat pocket.

"Get behind me, Sumire!" yelled Todoroki as he positioned himself between her and the villain. Grimacing through his pain, he spread both arms out to prevent him from getting to her. She was too close to him to be able to use either his ice or his fire without harming her.

"That's a real shame; you had such potential. Now all you'll do is become a stain on her memory as you waste away in front of her," Shigaraki said as he reached down and wrapped his right hand around Todoroki's neck.


	26. Chapter 26

_I did all I could, I can only hope Accelerator or some other Hero will make it back here in time to save her now._

Todoroki braced for the pain he expected to feel as Shigaraki set off his Quirk on him. He held his stance, guarding Sumire with all he could give at that moment. He closed his eyes and waited for death.

"What?! Why aren't you crumbling away?"

Todoroki dared to open his eyes and saw a puzzled Shigaraki staring down at him. He tightened his grip on the young man's throat, thinking that would make his ability activate. Only choking and wheezing noises answered him in response.

"Let go of him; I won't let you kill him or anyone else!" Sumire used her uninjured hand to try to pry the villain off of Todoroki's neck, but his grip was stronger.

 _There's only one thing left for me to do. I have to use my Quirk and steal his ability from him. I don't know what'll happen to me if I do though. But I'm not going to let him kill Todoroki. He's risking his life to save me, how can I not be willing to do the same?_

Sumire pulled her hand back and used her teeth to remove the glove from her hand. She reached out past the side of Todoroki's face and attempted to touch Shigaraki.

"Sumire... Don't!" Todoroki whispered through gasps of air.

Her throat seized up with emotion, tears streaming from her eyes. "I have to! There's no other way to save you than to break him!"

"There won't be any need for any of that nonsense, kids. Stand down now!" The voice was coming from the entrance, now clear of the mist that had been shielding it before. Stepping over the splintered remains of the door, was Mr. Aizawa. His goggles covered his eyes, making it difficult to know where he was looking and whose Quirks he was erasing. At the moment, it seemed everyone's Quirks were negated.

"Ahh, I remember you! You caused us so much trouble during the USJ attack. You're the reason why I wasn't able to kill this young man after all," Shigaraki said as he let go of Todoroki and stood up straight. "But we both know that you can't keep your ability going forever. I'm almost willing to bet after the injuries you suffered during our last fight your limits are even shorter than before."

"This isn't going to carry on long enough for you to find out if that's true, Shigaraki. Get out of here you two; it's time for the Pros to go to work!"

Todoroki, still gasping for air, slowly rose to his feet and turned to face Sumire. She was struggling to try to put her glove back on using her injured hand. He bent down and reached his hand out to assist her.

"NO!" She jerked her hands away from his approaching touch, freezing him in place with her sudden outburst. "You can't, Todoroki. I don't have the energy to hold my Quirk back anymore. It took all I had to keep it from activating while we were so close to each other earlier. Please don't take chances with me like that!"

"I... I'm sorry. I had no idea you were doing that just now. We need to get out of here, so please let me help you up so we can let the adults finish this." He stood up and reached out once more.

"Tch... I'm tired of waiting. Kamui, would you get these two out of here!"

The slim figure that entered the building was the Pro Hero known as Kamui Woods. He was known to be able to use his Quirk to manipulate the wood that made up the arms of his costume. "Sure thing, Eraserhead. Lacquered Chains Prison!" He raised his arms, the wood shielding them grew out and raced forward towards Todoroki and Sumire, wrapping firmly around them both. Kamui then yanked back, picking the two of them up and carrying them out of the building.

"Sorry if that was rough, but just stay out here and let us take care of the bad guys," Kamui said as he dropped the two students and re-entered the building. He found Aizawa still holding his place, preventing Shigaraki from using his Quirk.

Kurogiri, who had used the bar to hide, created another portal behind Shigaraki. "I think it's time for us to leave, Tomura!"

"I agree, let's continue this game at a later date, Heroes!" Shigaraki turned his back to Aizawa and walked towards the warp gate. Aizawa then realized where the creator of the portal was hiding. He gave up on erasing Shigaraki's Quirk and instead moved to the bar to find Kurogiri. He rested his eyes briefly before reactivating his Erasure on Kurogiri. He canceled it out just in time for the portal to disappear before Shigaraki could step through it.

"Argh! Damn you, Heroes! You think you're so superior and righteous all the time! But this Golden Age for heroes won't last forever, I guarantee it!"

Kamui used his Lacquered Chains Prison once more to restrain the two villains. Shigaraki attempted to grasp his wooden bind to break it down, but it was useless as long as Aizawa had his eyes set on the two of them.

"I think that we've had enough of a lesson for today, Tomura. You did well, but now is the time to realize that it's better to retreat and continue the fight another day," said a voice from within the room. Shigaraki looked towards the monitor on the bar. The screen came to life, with the words 'Sound Only' appearing on it.

"Sensei..."

A black oozing liquid formed around the two villains, slowly covering them. The wooden restraints holding them in place broke away, eaten away by the matter that had covered them and transported them away. The monitor blinked off a moment later.

"Damnit! They got away," yelled Kamui Woods as he retracted his wooden tendrils.

"It doesn't matter now," Aizawa said as he pulled the goggles off of his face and rubbed his eyes. "We managed to prevent them from taking the girl, so I'd consider the mission successful."

"That's true, Eraser. The others should have made it here by now, we should go check on the students," replied Kamui.

Aizawa realized that he hadn't seen the white-haired Esper around when he got to the hideout. "Hey Kamui, did you see that other Esper outside when you dropped off the other two kids?"

"No, was he supposed to be here?"

With a sigh, Aizawa answered, "Yeah, I have a feeling he was."

...

"Now where the fuck did I end up?" Accelerator wasn't amused by that guy's cheap trick to make him disappear before he had a chance to fight. The area he had ended up wasn't familiar, but he figured that the Quirk had to have some limit on distance. He had been left in a forest area, which gave him only one idea.

He sought out the tallest tree he could find and used his ability to jump from branch to branch until he reached the top. He identified the school, which made it easier to figure out just where the hideout was located. That area was illuminated with light now, which had to mean that the Heroes and police had made their move on it.

 _So even after all this time, I still wasn't able to protect her when she needed it most._

...

The team of Midoriya and Touma reached the last location by the time the police had. Spotting Todoroki and Sumire over by the EMT vehicles, they rushed over to find out what happened.

"What happened, did you guys get hurt? We tried to get here as soon as we could," said Midoriya. He noticed that Todoroki's left arm was wrapped heavily extending down from his shoulder. Red stains had already started to seep through the bandages. He also saw the bruising that had begun developing around his friend's neck as well.

"It was Shigaraki. He had Sumire held captive just the way he had you that time at the mall. Accelerator and I... Wait, have you guys seen him? Kurogiri sent him through a portal right before the Heroes got here."

Midoriya and Touma looked at each other, then shook their heads. "No, we were told to go back to the school, but we weren't going back until we knew what happened here," Midoriya looked over to Sumire. "How are you holding up? It must have been frightening for you. I was scared out of my mind when that guy managed to take me hostage before."

Sumire was getting bandages placed on her facial wounds by one of the medics, but she looked over to Midoriya and the other boys and nodded. "Yeah, it was a scary experience."

She was still trying to calm her nerves; exhaustion had taken her over. Just turning her head felt like a struggle. The training to suppress her Quirk had only recently started. She hadn't developed the stamina yet to hold it off for so long. It had nearly been set off when Todoroki pulled her away from Shigaraki. Being pressed so close to him as he was shielding her made her have to push herself even harder to avoid stealing his ability. She felt sorry for snapping at him so suddenly when he had only meant to help her.

"Miss, It'd be a good idea if you got some rest. Your vitals are higher than we'd like to see," the medic stated as he finished bandaging her face and began to wrap the wounds on her hand. "We'll be transporting the two of you to the hospital shortly."

"Yeah, I think that would be... a good idea..." Sumire leaned back on the gurney and barely finished her sentence before drifting off to sleep.

Todoroki watched her as she slept, his pain seemed insignificant now. She'd worn herself out just to make sure he would still have his Quirk.

He also realized that since finding her in that cold alley, tonight was the closest they had ever physically been to each other. Blushing, he tried to draw his mind away from that thought and looked away from her.

Midoriya noticed his friend looked troubled, so he decided to engage him in some conversation. "So how did the villains manage to escape, Todoroki?"

Thankful for the distraction from his mind's previous track, Todoroki answered, "I'm not sure, we were pulled out of the building by Kamui Woods, so we didn't see the end of the fight. I think I heard them say something about a different kind of portal though."

From the edge of the woods, Accelerator appeared. He had used his ability to rush through the forest in the direction of the hideout. Noticing all the police response vehicles, he realized that the fight was over.

"Damnit, I wanted to take my frustration out on that freak with the hand mask. He must not have been that strong a villain if they caught him that quickly though." He wandered around the busy lot, looking for anyone familiar when he saw the two gurneys near the waiting ambulances.

"Sumire!" He activated his power once more to speed to her side. The sight of her unconscious and heavily bandaged was more than he could take. "Hey! Wake up, Sumire! Please, you have to get up!"

"Shh! She's okay man, she's just tired and needed to get some sleep. Stop yelling, or you're going to wake her up," said Todoroki.

"She's really okay?" Accelerator looked at him and noticed his injured arm. _That's right, they both got hurt while he was rescuing her from that creepy bastard._

"Yeah, she just tired herself out suppressing her Quirk. I wasn't aware that she was even holding it back. She didn't have to put herself in this condition though. If I had lost my Quirk but still managed to save her, it would have been worth it."

Accelerator knew precisely what he meant. He was willing to give up his ability as well to save her five years ago. "Looks like she hasn't changed at all. Still refusing to break people."


	27. Chapter 27

**August 28th, 2011**

"You're gonna have to go in there and face her eventually, Accelerator," said Midoriya as the two young men sat in the waiting room at the nearby hospital.

Although her injuries were painful, they weren't as severe as they had anticipated. The only issue was Sumire not being conscious yet. Recovery Girl was prepared to use her Quirk to speed up the healing of her broken skin, but Sumire had to be awake and repressing her Quirk to be able to do so. Instead, she had moved on to treat Todoroki's arm, which had healed itself well after her treatment. You'd have to look very carefully to see the faint white scars that resembled the pattern of a shattered pane of glass. Of course, he had needed rest after the treatment, so he was sleeping comfortably in the next bed over from Sumire.

"What makes you think I won't?"

"You've been keeping your distance ever since last night. If something is bothering you, we can talk about it. But only if you really want to, of course!" The green-haired kid was just as awkward now as he was when he first introduced himself. But that awkwardness made him feel less threatening than the other Quirk users around.

"You're imagining things, kid. I'm just giving them enough space for the hospital people to do their jobs. Keep assuming I'm scared and you'll be occupying the next empty bed."

Midoriya shook his head no. "You can threaten me if you want, but I think you're nervous about facing her because of how you feel about her. I've seen the way you look at each other, and it's something... nice and comforting. Maybe it's love, but even if it isn't, you shouldn't be afraid to let her know what she means to you."

"It's got nothing to do with that! I just... This is the second time I haven't been able to protect her from harm. I wasn't strong enough to save her five years ago, and even though I've grown my power significantly since then, it still just isn't enough. I'm useless to her; she doesn't need me here."

"I think you're wrong, Accelerator. The fact that you're here now shows an enormous amount of strength on your part. Maybe you didn't have a direct hand in getting her away from the villains this time, but you still had a part in ensuring that she got out of there alive and well. You gave them the opportunity to get away from Shigaraki, as well as provided cover and bought time until Mr. Aizawa could arrive. You weren't useless, Accelerator. Far from it, and I'm sure she knows that."

Accelerator just stared at the floor in front of him. He wanted to believe that he made a difference this time.

The waiting room door opened and Recovery Girl stepped through, looking at the two boys. "She's awake now, and she's asking for you, kiddo. You can follow me back now."

Midoriya gave Accelerator a friendly pat on the shoulder. "You should go to her, sounds like she does need you after all," he said with a smile.

He stood up and took a moment to stretch his legs before turning back to Midoriya, "Thanks, kid."

Sumire was leaning up on the bed, she still looked exhausted, and her expression held some pain as well. However, once she saw Accelerator enter the room, her smile appeared, although it did little to mask how she truly felt. "Hey there, I was wondering where you had gone."

"I'm here. I was just talking with that Midoriya kid. You look tired; maybe you should get more sleep."

"I would, but the aching from the wounds is making sleep difficult. I think I've gotten enough energy back to make Recovery Girl's treatment work though. I just wanted to see you before we got started. I... wanted to thank you for all you did yesterday to save me."

Accelerator wasn't expecting to hear her thank him for what little he did during yesterdays rescue. He looked towards the other hospital bed and saw that Todoroki was awake as well, staring off in the opposite direction of Sumire. "There's no need to thank me, Sumire. Besides, I wasn't the only one there," he said as he nodded his head towards Todoroki.

"Ah, that's true. I need to thank you as well Todoroki. I'm just sorry you got hurt because of me."

Hearing his name brought him out of his daydreaming gaze, he looked at her and smiled. "It was nothing, Sumire. Don't feel sad about it, and I'm already healed, so it's not something to dwell on, okay?"

It had been so long since she had seen Todoroki smile. When had the last time been? During one of the walks around the school perhaps. But this smile seemed different; there was some sadness behind it. Sumire could feel there was something between the two guys, some tension that she couldn't place. It was different from the tense moments they'd had when they were arguing and fighting. It still felt uncomfortable, and after debating on how to handle it, she decided just to ask outright. "What's going on, guys? Why do I feel there's something you two aren't telling me?"

Her directness surprised the two of them. Looking at each other, neither one could find the words they wanted to say. Accelerator managed to speak first, "We talked while we were searching for you yesterday, and we wondered what you intend to do now. As far as where you wanted to go, that is. Had you given any thought to whether you wanted to return to Academy City... with me? Or if you'd rather stay here at the school?"

"I don't think it's as simple as choosing one place over the other. Academy City only showed me sadness and pain, but it also gave me you, Accelerator. I found out recently that this town was my original home. My parents were from here, and I'd like to be able to learn more about them. I also made new friends and made some happy memories here as well," she said as she looked towards Todoroki. "Another thing to think of is whether or not I'll still be targeted by the same people that kidnapped me from the start. I'm not sure how large their group was, but if they still intend to use me as a weapon against the Science side, it would be dangerous for me to live in Academy City. The same could be said for staying here as well, with Shigaraki taking an interest in me."

Accelerator nodded in agreement, "The way things are between Science and Magic now, it wouldn't be surprising for them to try again if it meant giving them an advantage over Espers."

"She shouldn't go back to that city. You'd just be making it easier for them to find her," said Todoroki as he looked away from the two of them. He knew it was bothering Accelerator, especially after the talk they had yesterday.

"I... I know. It will be for the best if you don't come back to Academy City with me, Sumire. You have a chance to live a much happier life here, and you should do all you can to make that happen. I'll be back later, just get some rest." Accelerator left the room before either one of them could object.

He had rushed out of the room so quickly; he hadn't noticed that Touma had been standing near the door.

"Hey... Hey Accelerator! Damnit, stop and listen to what I have to say!" Touma caught up with him and stood in his way.

"You really don't want to start something with me right now, Level Zero. Get out of my way. Don't make me destroy half this hospital to rid myself of your presence."

Touma shook his head and refused to move. "No, not after what I just heard in there. If you feel the need to tear something apart, then we should take this outside." He stepped to the side and allowed Accelerator to pass, but followed him closely until they were both a decent distance away from the hospital.

"Okay, what little bit of wisdom do you plan to bestow upon me after eavesdropping on our conversation?"

Touma looked at Accelerator with a serious expression. "I think you're full of shit! And I wasn't eavesdropping; I was waiting to visit with them and say my goodbyes before I go back to Academy City. It's none of my business, but after seeing the way things have been since we got here, I can't leave without saying this to you. Why can't you just admit that you care about that girl? I remember how you looked when you found out she was still alive. And now I just heard you say that you're going to give up and go back home without her? You had the perfect opportunity to let her know exactly how you felt and you just let it pass! Why would you do that after all you've been through for her?"

Accelerator yelled back in anger, "Because once I do, I can never take it back! Once I tell her how I feel, she'll want to know more. And eventually, she's going to realize that I pushed myself to attain all this power because of what she believed. She considered me broken, so I thought I'd prove her wrong. And it took me to places far darker than the SAI ever did. I've done some twisted and cruel shit. You should know that better than most. If she were to make that connection, she'd be... She'd blame herself, and I don't want that situation ever to happen because it's not her fault. And you know... She was right from the start. I was broken. Still am, although one day it'd be nice to be able to look at her and honestly feel worthy of her. But as it is now, I'm just not that person yet."

"You're saying "if I love her, I have to let her go," right? That's only going to hurt the both of you more! She's been doing the best she can for herself, to try to be happy. And whether you admit it or not, YOU are a part of that happiness. Even though you fear her reaction to your past, would you really be willing to take her happiness away? I thought you were stronger than that, I really did. I know that you've done horrible things and I still have a hard time looking at you without picturing all the Sisters that you killed."

"That's what I'm trying to say, asshole! Considering all the wrong I've done, to have anyone else judge me wouldn't wound me in the slightest. But if it's her seeing me for who I was... I admit that I'm not nearly strong enough to handle that kind of rejection. So you tell me Mister Hero, which would be better? Do I bare myself completely, all flaws unveiled, in full view of the one person whose opinion truly matters to me? Or do I keep it hidden and continue living with the pain of missing her? Which would be a more cruel punishment for my sins?"

Touma reflected for a few moments before speaking again. "It's not my place to decide how you should be punished for the wrongs you've done. And if it's redemption you want that's also not my concern. But there's a young woman in there that would be crushed if you disappeared from her life again. If you want to leave and keep your secrets, then fine. But don't say you're doing it for her sake. Besides, what's stopping you from just staying here with her anyway?"

"I didn't say that I'd never come back. That would be cruel, I know. Like I said before, I'm broken, but I want to become the person that she deserves. I can't make that kind of change here. If I stay, it'll only be a superficial change, only skin deep. No, for me to redeem myself, I need to go back and fix all that I've destroyed. I won't have Sumire put her life on hold for me while I do that either. If that means that she moves on and finds happiness with someone else, then I can accept that. Even if it's with that overhyped ice machine. At least I'd know that he'd cherish and protect her." He paused for a moment, "but don't ever let him know I said that."

Touma had a short laugh at that last comment. He hadn't realized how deep Accelerator's feelings went with Sumire. "You don't have to worry about me saying anything. I still think you're making things harder for yourself, but I suppose the only one that can really judge that is you. If you feel that you can handle that kind of burden, then all I can say is good luck to you. Just try not to make her cry."

"I can't promise that right now. But if the future leads to us finding each other again, I'll make sure she never sheds another tear of sadness. I've had enough of this emotional talk, especially with a loser like you. Don't think of this as a truce either. If I see you again in the City, I'll grind you into the pavement."

"Yeah, sure thing."

...

Accelerator returned a few hours later to the hospital room. Todoroki had fallen asleep, but Sumire was awake. She smiled at his return, although he could tell she had been upset about his sudden departure.

"Sumire, I just wanted you to know that I'm okay with going back to Academy City alone. At least I know where you are now, and that you're safe."

"But... couldn't you just stay here? What could be keeping you there?" Sumire had started to tear up, but he reached for a tissue and wiped her eyes dry.

"Don't cry; I wouldn't mind staying here. It would be a great place for a fresh start. But I have a lot of sins that I have to atone for there. I can't run from them and expect to be accepted here. To put it plainly, I need to go back and fix the things that I've broken."

Sumire couldn't obey his request not to cry after he referred to her belief about breaking and fixing. She smiled through the tears though. "I understand, Seiji. Just... don't take too long. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I won't let it take any longer than necessary, Sumire. But don't stop living your life because I'm not in it, that wouldn't be fair to you. Just... whatever you do, make sure you're happy."

...

Touma had caught the first bus out of town. He suspected that Index had left a mess for him to clean up at his teacher's apartment and wanted to get back before she could get into any more trouble. Sumire was still resting in the hospital, but Todoroki had been cleared to go home. He met Accelerator at the bus station to see him off.

"You didn't have to come down here. I'm capable of catching a bus home without help," said Accelerator.

"I know, but my curiosity got the better of me. After everything we talked about while we were searching for her, why would you leave now? You know how I feel about her, don't you think you're making a mistake?"

The young Esper stared out at the bus terminals, "You wanted us to let Sumire decide who should have her heart, right? I'm not prepared to have her make that choice yet. If she chose me now, she'd be picking the Accelerator she knew five years ago without knowing who I became while she was gone. And that's not fair, to her or you. I'm going back to change things in that fucking city so that when the time comes for her to decide who her heart desires, it'll be a fair and even choice between us."

Todoroki nodded, "That seems fair, but don't think that I'll make it easy for you just to show back up and sweep her off her feet."

"I don't expect you to, just keep your eye on her and make sure she stays safe. I know I can trust you to do that."

"Of course. Until next time, take care of yourself." Todoroki extended his hand, which Accelerator met and shook immediately.

"Same to you. Maybe we'll have a rematch the next time we meet. It's hard to find a decent rival these days..."

 **A small teaser for the next continuation of No Direct Contact**

Midoriya decided to stop in and check on Sumire after he heard Accelerator had left. He found her awake but looking somewhat down.

"Uh, hi Sumire. How are you doing? I heard you managed to get your injuries treated by Recovery Girl, so that's good!"

She gave a small smile and agreed. "Midoriya, I've been thinking about something, and I'd like to hear your opinion on it."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Do you think it's possible for someone to get rid of their Quirk?"

Midoriya was caught off guard by her question, "What?!"

 **I have to say I struggled with this last chapter over the past week, which is why it's a couple days late being published. I didn't want to admit that this part of the story was ending! I hope you all have enjoyed this crossover between the worlds of A Certain Magical Index and My Hero Academia. This chapter ended up being a little longer than usual, but I really wanted to make it known just how Accelerator feels and his reasoning for what he decides to do. It may seem like he has a different reason for each person he speaks with (Midoriya, Touma, and finally Todoroki) but each reason is true. He's a guarded person, and he only felt comfortable sharing the truths that he wanted each person to know about him.**

 **As you see with the small teaser above, I do intend to continue this story, although to what extent I'm not sure of right now. I don't intend to wait very long, but I also have plans to write an original story for NanoWrimo, so that may take time away from working on this story. Please let me know what you thought of the ending or any other details you'd like to talk about, I love this story and would love to discuss it with you readers! Fav/Follow/Review and thank you so much for reading. See you when the next chapter drops!**


	28. Special Bonus Chapter: Social Media

**This is a special bonus chapter, set during the week 37 started going to classes with Todoroki and Midoriya. It was inspired by a writing prompt that asked us to give an OC access to social media. So I thought it'd be fun to see how 37 would handle the newer technology and apps. Plans for the continuation are still being worked out, but I may have another bonus chapter coming out soon, so stick around please!**

"Oh, it looks like I got a new friend request on Facebook. I wonder who it could... It's 37!" Midoriya leaned over to Todoroki and showed him his screen.

"That's surprising, I didn't know she had made one yet," Todoroki replied before pulling out his phone to check for any requests. He felt a twinge of disappointment when he didn't have one from her as well.

Midoriya seemed to pick up on his reaction. "Well, she has been out of the tech and social media loop being in that coma for five years. It's probably just taking her a while to get used to setting it up."

Todoroki checked his phone once more before sliding it back into his coat pocket. "Yeah, perhaps that's all it is."

"Her profile picture is nice. I'm pretty sure that's the view from the top of the school. I guess she found a way up there since she's been living here," Midoriya passed his phone to Todoroki, this time with her profile picture enlarged. The sunset was the main focus, casting its fading colors against the landscape of the city. She had part of the school building in the picture as well, one of the windows reflected back the image of the person taking the shot.

"Wow, you can see her in the window on the side. I wonder if that was her intention." Todoroki looked closer, zooming in on the image. Her face was still towards the sun, smiling as though she enjoyed the view. She must have if she had been moved by it enough to take the picture after all. But her smile also felt... sad. He wondered if perhaps she was being reminded of where she came from. He handed the phone back to Midoriya and nodded.

"It's a pretty cool picture, whether she meant to include herself or not. I'll just throw a 'Like" on it really fast before we get into the classroom. Oh no, I accidentally slid too far and put on the 'Angry' face! Oh, quick Deku, change it back!"

Todoroki shook his head as they stepped into class 1-A. He noticed 37 in the back of the room, she had her phone in front of her with a frustrated look on her face. "Good morning, 37," he said. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, hello Todoroki. I just... I'm having a little trouble with this thing," she said as she nudged the phone in front of her with her index finger. "I was trying to start up a Facebook page but it kept giving me weird error messages."

 _Ah, so that really was all that was holding her up._ "Well, I could take a look at it if you don't mind. I'm sure a five-year jump in technology must be a little overwhelming."

37 laughed a little and agreed with him. "Yeah, I'd appreciate it. I managed to send a few friend requests out but it started acting up so I don't know if it actually worked. I didn't realize social media could change so much in such a relatively short time. This is nothing like MySpace used to be."

"What's MySpace?" asked Todoroki as he picked up 37's phone and swiped to unlock it. He was shocked to find that he was on her phone's wallpaper. Well, it was a group picture from the first day 37 had joined their class, taken while they were out showing her the city on their way to the station. But it surprised him that she had it up there, and realized that every time she opened her phone she'd be seeing him on it.

"Apparently it's not around anymore. At least not as a social thing. I didn't really use it much back then, considering I was attempting to hide my existence. But it still gave me a chance to see what the outside world was up to."

"I see," he said as he checked her app settings. Everything seemed fine on that end. He then tried opening the Facebook app itself. Still no obvious errors that he could identify. He touched the Search box to see if he could enter a name for a friend request attempt and her recent search history appeared.

 **Stupid machine!**

 **Why can't you search for Todoroki?**

 **Todoroki!**

 **Shouto Todoroki**

 **Todoroki Shouto**

 **Todoroki**

 **Todoroki**

 **Todaroki**

 **Uraraka Ochako**

 **Ochako**

 **Midoriya Izuku**

 **Deku**

 **Seiji Roisin**

He scrolled through her search history, astounded at how many times she had attempted to search for his name. She even got angry enough to insult the phone when it still wouldn't work. As he looked at the phone he noticed that one of the icons in the top status bar had a line through it.

 _She has her phone in Airplane Mode! It's no wonder that she couldn't get anything to come up._

"Oh, here's your problem 37, you had this turned on," he pulled down the toolbar and pointed to the Airplane Mode icon. "When that's on, you can't receive or send any data, including the Internet."

37 looked at the icon as Todoroki switched it off, her face turning red. "This is just embarrassing, how could I have not noticed that?! I must have accidentally pushed that when I shoved it in my pocket on the way here. I had started adding people in my room, then had to rush here to class. Thank you for catching that Todoroki," she said with a smile.

"It's no problem at all, you should be good to go now," he said as he put her phone back on the desk. He knew that it would worry her if he tried to hand it to her directly. "Class is about to start so you may want to hold off until our next break."

"Sure thing, thanks again!"

He smiled at her and made his way back to his seat, just in time for their homeroom teacher, Mr. Aizawa to call everyone's attention to the front.

Shortly after his lecture began, Todoroki felt his phone vibrate inside his coat pocket. He glanced over to 37, who had her phone hidden between her textbook and the desk. She turned her head and saw Todoroki looking at her. She smiled at him while raising a finger to her lips. He smiled back and shook his head and returned to focus on the lesson. Another notification shook his pocket, this time his curiosity got the better of him and he carefully took out his phone and unlocked it.

The first message was the friend request from 37. The second was a text from her.

 _Sorry, I didn't want to wait any longer to send that request. I'm sure you won't tell on me though :)_

A short laugh escaped from Todoroki as he read the message. Suddenly he felt 21 sets of eyes on him and looked up to confirm this was true.

"Todoroki, I must have missed out on how humorous it really is to discuss natural disasters and the tragedies they cause. Maybe you could enlighten us all on what was so amusing about them?"

"Sorry sir, I wasn't... I wasn't paying attention sir, I apologize. It won't happen again, sir."

"Anyway, continuing on..."

 _Whew, that was close._ Todoroki glanced over to 37, who had her hands covering her mouth. She looked at Todoroki, moved her hands away from her face and mouthed the words _I'm sorry_ to him. He made the 'thumbs up' sign with his hand and tried to pay attention to the class once more.

"Oh man, I thought Aizawa was going to go off on you for sure, Todoroki," said Midoriya as they were walking to the lunch room. "Just what managed to make you giggle in the middle of class anyway?"

"Just something silly, it doesn't matter." He pulled his phone out, went into Facebook and immediately confirmed 37's friend request. A notification popped up right after, saying he had been tagged in a post. He clicked on it and smiled once again.

 _I'm still trying to get the hang of this phone and all the things it does, so please be patient with me. Thank you_ **Todoroki Shouto** _for finding the problem and fixing it for me, you're my smartphone hero! I guess I'll post here more soon!_


	29. Special Bonus Chapter 2: Prequel

**This is another special bonus chapter for No Direct Contact. This is almost a prequel chapter, showing 37's perspective before she tries to escape at the beginning of the story. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. I'll be working on an original story this month for Nanowrimo (hopefully, my job added more hours next week so writing may be difficult) and possibly outlining more of NDC's continuation. As always I'm thankful for all of you that have been reading my stories, please comment your thoughts I always love talking about this story, hehe. Fav/Follow/Review and enjoy!**

 _I'm sure they won't stand for much more of my disobedience. If I'm going to try to get out of here, the time is now._

The teenager had prepared for this day. She knew that the scientists were getting weary of her not attempting to strengthen her Esper ability. After all the tests they put her through, watching as her body bruised and bled with each point of contact made. Her ability had been nothing but a curse to her since she arrived at the Special Abilities Institute. She could copy another Esper's ability with the mere touch of her skin against theirs. But this amazing power had a devastating price. With each touch her body reacted violently, with lacerations, bruises, and the occasional broken bones. Scars composed the landscape of her skin. The scientists knew this reaction would occur, and had even discovered that the injuries increased with the level of the Esper. One of the last experiments had her being forced into contact with a level 4. The results were a copied ability, internal bleeding, and a fractured spine.

"They won't stop until I'm dead anyway, I may as well take the chance of getting out of here if death is approaching," she told herself as she pulled on her gloves and interlaced her fingers to get them fitted comfortably.

She healed faster than a normal human would, but that didn't do anything to help the pain she'd suffer through. Her thoughts wandered back to her earlier years at the SAI. Remembering the other 46 Subjects, she was saddened by the fact that she never saw any of them again. They all had amazing Esper powers, she had felt bad each time she had to copy them, considering the scientists made her do so with all the other Subjects. As careful as she was to avoid touching anyone accidentally outside of the testing quarters, she was eventually made to go into seclusion away from the others.

As she prepared to leave her cell for good, she looked around for any other supplies that could help her once she was out. Her eyes fell on the well-worn stuffed bear that sat atop her bed. A smile fought its way to the surface and she picked it up and hugged it. She remembered the young boy that had given it to her. Seiji Roisin, the little white-haired boy that had been left at the SAI about four years after her arrival. It was the day that she had been told she was being moved to the seclusion cells and she had sat in the corner weeping. The little boy approached her and offered her his teddy bear. He had brought very few belongings with him to the SAI, and here he was trying to cheer her up with what little he had to give.

"I wish I could save you, little Seiji." She put the bear back down on the bed, although she wanted to take it with her. Maybe in some way she felt that it would make it's way back to Seiji once she was gone. _Perhaps that could repay my debt to him. A smile for a smile._

It was time to go. She gathered her long violet hair and pulled it behind her. She had managed to block the automatic lock from engaging on her cell door as she returned to it earlier in the day, so all she had to do was slip out. The loading docks would be the best place to go, even though it would mean getting close to the scientist's offices. She hoped she had waited long enough and that they had all left or bunked down for the day. Hopefully Kihara would have already left as well, he was the worst of them.

37 was nearing the area closest to the offices, staying close to the walls and crouching down as she went. She had been so focused on making it to the loading docks that she had failed to notice the small figure that had begun to follow her. That is, until he accidentally walked into her. Some force he emitted had flung her backwards. She initially panicked, worried that he had somehow managed to make contact with her skin. She waited for the pain to come, and when it didn't, she took a closer look at the person that had bumped her to the ground.

 _White hair. Could it really be him?_ It had been several years since she had seen any of the other students. But perhaps...

 _Seiji?_


End file.
